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U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Forest Service Southern Regional Extension Forestry Southern Regional Extension Forestry

Growth and stem sinuosity of diverse provenances of three-year-old loblolly pine

Stem height and sinuosity of stem and of branches were measured at age three in a trial established in southwest Georgia with 13 to 16 OP families from each of four provenances of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). Families from the Gulf Hammock, FL provenance were taller than families from the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Lower Gulf, and Middle/Upper Gulf provenances. Sinuosity also differed significantly by provenance with the fastest growing provenances having the most sinuous stems and branches. The unfavorable correlation between growth and sinuosity at the provenance level was not evident among families within provenances. Apparently, the mechanisms causing the faster-growing provenances to be more sinuous were not the same at the family level within provenances. We hypothesize that the large differences in the length of the growing season for trees from the different provenances are partly responsible for the differences in sinuosity. Trees from southern regions grew longer than trees from the northern regions and possibly were not as lignified, increasing the likelihood of sinuosity.


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Author(s): Steven E. McKeand, J. B. Jett

Publication: Tree Improvement and Genetics - Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference - 1993

Section: Concurrent Session 4: Breeding and Progeny Testing