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Abstract
Poor root growth is frequently associated with poor planted northern red oak seedling establishment and performance. Therefore, we determined if several nursery treatments resulted in differences in northern red oak seedling characteristics, particularly in root systems, which might increase rapidity of growth after outplanting and thus improve regeneration success. The treatments we chose were undercutting after two flushes of growth and dipping germinated seed in either low concentration (2,000 ppm) or high concentration (8,000 ppm) K-IBA prior to planting. Each of these has been reported to alter number of firstorder lateral roots and/or their distribution along the taproot. However, reports of these treatments compared were not found. Half-sib seed from each of two mother trees were planted either in the fall 1992 (control and undercut treatments) or in the spring 1993 (auxin dipped seed treatments) at Wilson State Forest Tree Seedling Nursery in Boscobel Wisconsin (43N lat., 90W long.). The mother trees were located in Nicolet National Forest (SS1) and in Chequamegon National Forest (SS2) in northern Wisconsin. Seedlings in the undercut treatment were undercut at 15 cm depth when seedlings were approaching the end of the second flush of growth. Seedlings were lifted at 20 cm depth after one season of growth in April 1994. They were characterized by height; numbers of permanent first-order lateral roots on the upper and lower 10 cm of the taproot; diameters at-, 10 cm below-, and 2 cm above- root collar.
Parent Publication
Citation
Tomlinson, Patricia T. 1999. Nursery treatments alter root morphology of 1+0 northern red oak seedlings. In: Stringer, Jeffrey W.; Loftis, David L., eds. 1999. Proceedings, 12th central hardwood forest conference; 1999 February 28-March 1-2; Lexington, KY. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-24. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 293 p
