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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of seed source, acorn mass and size, and early shoot growth on morphological traits of 1-year-old oak seedlings. Forested bottomlands in the Midwest have been greatly reduced in the past 150 years as a result of conversion to agriculture and recent catastrophic floods. Due to a lack of available hard mast, intense competition from other riparian pioneer species and heavy animal pressure, natural regeneration and bare-rooted plantings of oak and other hard mast species along the lower Missouri River have had limited success. One viable option may lie in the use of root production method (RPM™) container-grown oak seedlings. Analysis of main treatment effects (i.e., heavy vs. light acorns) determined that
Quercus x
schuettei seedlings originating from heavy acorns were significantly larger than seedlings from light acorns. Main treatment effects on
Quercus bicolor were analyzed and small acorns were found to have significantly larger seedling height and root volume than large acorns. Based on our findings, when seedlings are grown under optimal conditions for the production of high quality nursery seedlings, it is advantageous to retain and sow all acorns without screening for size or weight.
Parent Publication
Citation
Grossman, Benjamin C.; Gold, Michael A.; Dey, Daniel C. 2003. Effect of acorn mass and size, and early shoot growth on one-year old container-grown RPM™ oak seedlings. In: Van Sambeek, J. W.; Dawson, Jeffery O.; Ponder Jr., Felix; Loewenstein, Edward F.; Fralish, James S., eds. Proceedings of the 13th Central Hardwood Forest Conference; Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-234. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Research Station: 405-414
