Cultivation in Cottonwood Plantations - Practices and Equipment

Abstract

Thorough first-year cultivation in cottonwood plantations is mandatory to ensure optimum survival and growth. Poor cultivation can reduce growth and may kill trees. Some plantation managers feel that only first-year cultivation is necessary, while others routinely disk for 2, 3, or even 4 years. Chemical weed control shows promise but has not been adequately researched. The equipment most often used consists of tractors of approximately 100 horsepower equipped either with a wide front-mounted cultivator that can straddle one row and cover the area between rows or with a small front-mounted cultivator that straddles the row as well as a disk or spring-tooth harrow drawn behind to cover the area between rows. Equipment should be kept well adjusted and tree damage during cultivation held to a minimum.

Citation

Kennedy, Harvey E.; Henderson, Wilbur H. 1976. Cultivation in Cottonwood Plantations - Practices and Equipment. In: Proceedings of the Symposium on Eastern Cottonwood and Related Species. USDA-Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station: 379-384.