Frost hardiness, height, and dormancy of 15 short-day, nursery-treated interior spruce seed lots

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 1096-1105 ◽  
Author(s):  
C DB Hawkins ◽  
K B Shewan

Fifteen seed lots, five each from natural-stand, seed-orchard, and full-sib collections, of interior spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss, Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm., and their naturally occurring hybrids) were sown in February 1993. One half of each seed lot received an ambient photoperiod (control) treatment, while the other half got a blackout (short-day) treatment. All seedlings were grown under ambient photoperiod except during the 17 days of blackout. Frost hardiness assessments were done between July and May. Blackout treatment was effective in regulating height and promoting frost hardiness in all seed lots, particularly vigorous ones. Seed lots originating from high latitude or elevation were more frost hardy both at fall lift and spring planting. Full-sib seed lots from similar latitude displayed no elevational frost-hardiness trend. Blackout treatment promoted seedling dormancy (estimated with days to bud break) at lift, but it had little or no effect on dormancy at planting. Seedling dormancy and frost hardiness were acquired and lost differently, suggesting that they are independent physiological processes. Blackout treatment significantly reduced new roots at planting in all lots. This could retard early field performance and negate the apparent utility of blackout treatment.

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 692
Author(s):  
Johanna Riikonen ◽  
Jaana Luoranen

Determination of safe times at which to transfer seedlings to freezer storage is problematic in forest tree nurseries. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between pre-storage frost hardiness (FH) of different plant parts, dry matter content (DMC), chilling hours (the sum of hours when temperature was between −5 °C and +5 °C), and post-storage vitality, and the impact of short-day (SD) treatment on these relationships. One and a half year old control seedlings and SD-treated seedlings of Norway spruce were transferred to freezer storage (−3 °C) on five occasions during autumn. On each occasion, the FH of buds, needles, stem, and roots, as well as DMC, were determined, and chilling hours were calculated. The vitality of the freezer-stored seedlings was determined through their root growth capacity in the subsequent spring, and through the field performance of the seedlings (shoot growth and seedling damage) at the end of the following two growing seasons. Seedlings were considered to be storable when the FH of the needles was at least −25 °C, and the FH of the roots was about −10 °C in both treatments. Early storage reduced the vitality of the seedlings. SD treatment did not advance the storability of the seedlings, although it alleviated some of the negative effects of early storage by improving the FH of needles and stem, but not that of the roots. The DMC value, indicating storability, was higher for SD-treated seedlings than for control seedlings. When data from five experiments conducted in Suonenjoki were combined, it was found that the relationship between accumulation of chilling hours and needle FH was dependent on nursery treatment and assessment year, which reduces the reliability of using chilling hours in predicting the storability of Norway spruce seedlings. The predicted climate change may complicate the fall acclimation of seedlings. New, user-friendly methods for determining storability of seedlings are urgently needed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1526-1535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglass F. Jacobs ◽  
Anthony S. Davis ◽  
Barrett C. Wilson ◽  
R. Kasten Dumroese ◽  
Rosa C. Goodman ◽  
...  

We tested effects of shortened day length during nursery culture on Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedling development at dormancy release. Seedlings from a 42°N source were grown either under ambient photoperiods (long-day (LD)) or with a 28 day period of 9 h light : 15 h dark photoperiods (short-day (SD)). Seedlings were periodically removed from freezer storage from January to May. Sensitivity of plant tissues to cold temperatures was investigated via electrolyte leakage at nine test temperatures ranging from 2 to –40 °C. New root growth was assessed with rhizosphere temperatures of 10, 15, 20, and 25 °C. From 2 to –13 °C, there was no difference between treatments in cold hardiness. However, at or below –18 °C, LD seedlings exhibited higher indices of damage than SD seedlings. The LT50 (temperature at which 50% cell electrolyte leakage occurred) was consistently lower for SD than LD seedlings. Rhizosphere temperature differentially influenced new root proliferation: LD seedlings had greater new root production than SD seedlings at 20 °C, whereas the opposite response was detected at 10 °C. Our results confirm photoperiod sensitivity of Douglas-fir sources from relatively low (i.e., <45°N) latitudes. Increased spring cold hardiness and greater rooting at lower rhizosphere temperatures may improve field performance potential of SD-treated seedlings.


1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 566-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Simpson

Interior spruce (Piceaglaucaengelmannii complex), lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta Dougl.), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco), and western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) were grown from seed for 20 weeks in containers, with 18-h photoperiods. Fortnightly, over a 12-week acclimation period (September 7 – December 1) outdoors at Vernon, B.C., samples were taken for (i) foliage frost hardiness measurement, (ii) poststorage root growth capacity, and (iii) outplanting on forest sites. In all species, frost hardiness and root growth capacity increased with weeks of acclimation. Frost hardiness and root growth capacity were correlated with each other in western hemlock, lodgepole pine, and Douglas-fir, and with field performance (survival or growth) in interior spruce, lodgepole pine, and Douglas-fir.


1995 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 739-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Simpson ◽  
Alan Vyse

Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii var glauca (Beissn.) Franco], interior spruce [Picea glauca Moench (Voss), Picea engelmannii (Parry) and their naturally occurring hybrids] and lodge-pole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.) seedlings were planted on several forest sites in south central British Columbia. At planting, root growth potential (number of newly elongated roots longer than 10 mm per seedling) was determined. Trees were assessed for survival and height for at least five years. Survival of Douglas-fir and growth of all three species was affected by planting site, probably reflecting moisture and growing season temperature differences among sites. High (> 70%) survival, but not total height or mean annual relative growth rate was associated with root growth potential levels greater than 10 new roots per seedling in interior spruce and lodgepole pine. Survival and growth of Douglas-fir were not related to root growth potential. Fertilization of interior spruce seedlings at planting decreased survival 18% over seven growing seasons, and did not affect growth of surviving seedlings. Key words: reforestation, root growth potential, seedling quality, Douglas-fir, interior spruce, lodgepole pine, field performance


1960 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 597-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Vaartaja

Seedlings of Picea glauca were grown for 2 months under three photoperiodic treatments. Short day treatment induced early terminal dormancy and resistance to severe drought treatment. Long day treatments, on the other hand, allowed prolonged growth of most seedlings and made them susceptible to drought.


HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 1263-1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent L. Black ◽  
Harry J. Swartz ◽  
Gerald F. Deitzer ◽  
Bryan Butler ◽  
Craig K. Chandler

The effect of altered red/far-red light environment on subsequent field performance of strawberry plug plants was tested. Two wavelength-selective plastic films were compared to neutral shade and full-sun control for conditioning `Chandler' strawberry plug plants before transplanting to a winter production system. The following year, plug plants of `Chandler', `Sweet Charlie', and `Allstar' were conditioned under the same treatments, with the addition of a continuous incandescent light and a short-day photoperiod, and plant performance was followed in the winter production system in Florida, a cold-climate annual hill system in Maryland, and in a low-input greenhouse production system. During the first year, the red light-filtering film slightly advanced fruiting in Florida. However, during the second year, the effect of the red light-filtering film was not significant, and a short-day treatment resulted in a greater reduction in runnering and increased early crown and flower development. For June-bearing strawberry plants maintained above 20 °C, altering the red/far-red environment did not consistently advance flowering.


1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. John Runions ◽  
John N. Owens

Pollination drops are secreted from the ovules of interior spruce (Picea glauca or Picea engelmannii and their hybrid) as seed cones begin to close at the end of the pollination period. Secreted pollination drops persist within spaces surrounding the micropylar opening in closed seed cones. Saccate pollen floats into the micropyle within the pollination drop. Pollination drops become voluminous enough, within the enclosed spaces, to scavenge pollen adhering to the micropylar arms and other surfaces in proximity with the micropyle. Scavenging of pollen from cone surfaces adjacent to the integuments is sometimes facilitated by rainwater that can float pollen into the opening of the micropyle before cone closure and pollination drop secretion. In practice, periodic, light misting of seed orchard trees during seed cone receptivity might increase pollination efficiency by mimicking rainwater involvement in the pollination mechanism. Rainwater involvement in pollination of some modern conifers may reflect a similar situation in the pollination mechanisms of ancestral conifers. Environments with limited rainfall combined with the requirement for moisture in the pollination mechanism may have provided the selective pressure for evolution of the pollination drop. Keywords: pollination drop, Picea, conifer, sacci.


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