Pinaceae (Pinus)
Pinus (echinata)
Pinaceae
Pine Family
Pinus
echinata
P. Mill.
Shortleaf pine
PINECH
South Central Missouri
Shortleaf pine occurs over most of the Atlantic, Midwestern, and Gulf Coast Plains states from New York to Indiana and south to eastern Texas and Oklahoma. It is the mostly widely distributed pine species in the southern US and occurs in dry forests and uplands; from 200 to 610 m (656 to 2,001 ft).
plants
seed
Bareroot (field grown)
1+0
9 Months
Height:6 in
Caliper:0.11 in
Root System: Root system must balance top growth.
Seeds are purchased from local people who collect within a 50 mile radius of the nursery. Ovulate cones mature in two years, and are red-brown, ovoid to conic, 4 to 7 cm (1.5 to 2.75 in) long and are borne singly or in clusters, and bear winged seeds with a body length of 6 mm (0.23) and wing length of up to 16 mm (0.62 in). Seeds are dispersed from late October to November and the majority of seeds fall in 2 to 3 weeks after cone open.
Cones can be opened without the use of a kiln by spreading them on a tarp in a warm, well ventilated greenhouse or drying shed for several days.
Seeds have persistent wings and are easily damaged during processing and extraction. Seeds are de-winged by placing them into a mechanical de-winger that spray fine mist over seeds as they are tumbled. Seeds and wings then must be dried for separation. Empty seeds are removed by a Jesse aspirator that uses, suction, air and gravity to separate out empty seeds.
Seeds are dried to 8-9% seed moisture content for storage.
There are 70,620 to 160,380 seeds per kilogram (32,100 to 72,900 seeds per pound) (Krugman, Jenkinson 2004).
We store our seeds in sealed plastic bags inside sealed plastic tubs at 5 to 6 F. We have had good germination on seeds that have been held in storage for 38 years at our nursery.
Seeds are soaked in water for 24 hours and treated with Thiram fungiide. We plant our seeds in late April using a Love seeder set at 3rd gear at 16 setting into prepared field beds.
Soils: Our field soils are silty clay loams.
The spring before planting, we amend the soils with 700 lbs/acre of 1N:3 P205:5K20, grow a soybean cover crop, and fumigate in the fall. We use Roundup Ready soybeans so we can control weeds by using glycosate herbicide without harming the cover crop. During early August, we disk under the cover crop and disk the soils several times during the next 6 weeks to obtain a smooth soil surface. Soils are fumigated in late September. Field Bed Preparation: We mark out and form beds as needed. Beds are prepared with a rototiller/seedbed former and are typically 4 to 6 inches high and 4 ft wide. Fields are cultivated for weeds as needed throughout the growing season.
Irrigation: We use overhead irrigation with two inch pvc pipe that can be moved from field to field each year. Our principle water source is from 3 on-site wells and is very good quality water.
We sow seeds at least .25 inches deep to protect them from deer, rodents and birds. Seeds are covered and irrigated when soils appear to be drying out on warm days. We apply old sawdust and hydromulch after sowing.
1 month after emergence in the spring
Year 1: Fertilization: We apply ammonium sulfate 21-0-0-24 with a mechanical spreader. We put on the first application the last week of May and to only those 1+0 seedlings that have been germinated for at least 5 or 6 weeks. We put down our last application during the last week of July. We apply fertilizer at the rate of 125 lbs/acre. Frequency of application depends on the species and how they look that season. We irrigate for at least 45 minutes following all fertilizer applications. This insures that foliage will not burn and incorporates fertilizer into the root zone.
ROOT PRUNING PROCEDURES: Seedlings are root pruned during June. Pruning depth is at least 10 inches for 1+ 0 stock. Irrigate heavily for 2 to 3 days prior to pruning to saturate the root zone. Set pruning blade to slightly wrench seedlings as they are pruned. Check pruning depth frequently and adjust as needed. Irrigate for a minimum of 2 hours following root pruning to settle soil back around roots. This step is critical to eliminate post root pruning mortality. Irrigate field heavily for 2 to 3 days to further settle the soil.
4 months
Hardening begins during August. No fertilizer is applied after August. Irrigation frequency and duration is shortened and applied only when needed.
3 months
Lifting window is from late November to April, depending on species. We try to obtain a large a root mass as possible. Seedlings are hand lifted after the seedling beds have been undercut at an average depth of 10 or 12 inches using a lifter. Lifted nursery stock is immediately stored in cooler until graded and bundled. The majority of species are graded, bundled and shipped during February.
3 months
Krugman SL, Jenkinson JL. 2004. The genus Pinus. In: Woody Plant Seed Manual (on-line version) URL: http://wpsm.net/Pinus.pdf
Hoss, Gregory. 2006. Propagation protocol for production of Bareroot (field grown) Pinus echinata P. Mill. plants 1+0; George O. White State Forest Nursery Licking, Missouri. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2024/05/02). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.
