Epsilon Open Archive

Abstract

An experiment was made with grafts of four different clones of Scots Pine (Pinus silvestris) planted in 1963 in poor sandy soil, with two different spacings and with and without an annual supply of fertilizers from 1964 onwards. The nutrient status of the pines was followed by foliar analysis of needles sampled every autumn. Measurements of a great number of traits (dimensions of tree stems and top-shoots, dimensions and number of branches, branch angles, cone frequencies, etc.) were made in 1967 and 1969 and subsequent statistical analyses showed that both clones and treatment had significant effects on tree properties. Fertilizer strongly affected many properties, such as diameter, branch length and diameter, cone setting and needle length. In this early phase of stand development spacing had less effect on growth than did fertilizer, but branch and stem diameters were affected. Clone influence was very strong in branch angle (one of the four clones was characterized by acute branch angles) but also appeared in some dimensional relations and cone numbers.