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Veg prop elite Sitka Spruce |
Nick_Ananin
Not too shy to talk
Joined: 01-Jan-2002
Posts: 32
From:
 |  Posted: 2002-03-25 07:43
As a forester I have picked up a number of concepts amongst my 'baggage'.
One of these concepts is that, whilst stem quality and production is important, a priority for foresters should be to grow good tree roots. Many of us learn most about forestry by personal experience and observation. In the past I have noticed that certain species (e.g. Douglas fir) planted on better land in the north east of Scotland seem to develop poorer root/shoot ratios but have not been able to support this with evidence.
Latterly I have begun to wonder if improved (elite) Sitka Spruce produced from vegetative cuttings (see
Use of Vegetative Propagules in Reforestation in B.C.) have poorer root/shoot ratios. This is particularly critical if we are going to produce wind stable crops given the weather here in the UK.
Does anyone know of any ongoing research in this field?
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WarrickN
Just popping in
Joined: 23-Jul-2003
Posts: 3
From:
|  Posted: 2006-05-18 04:08
You could well be right about a poorer root system on cuttings compared to seedlings, although I have not seen anything specific to indicate this is so, other than cuttings are obviously adventitious roots and start off with a different structure.
My observations are that many cuttings are produced in containerised systems that guide roots downwards by the container wall. This is a common cause of tree instability after planting. Seedlings are only marginally less susceptible to this effect. Part of this could be that the seedling roots guided by the container wall are generally smaller, thinner roots, and seedlings are likely to have more laterals than a cutting typically produces.
A major defect on some cuttings is a single lateral root developing - thus producing a lop-sided root system. This was quite a big problem in the Eucalypt cuttings in the 1980s when large (8-15cm) cuttings were being set. It seems to be much less of a problem now that most nurseries are setting very much softer tissue (2-4cm length). Pinus species seem to behave similarly - large cuttings tend to throw single roots in containerised propagation.
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