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Home → Publications → National Nursery Proceedings → 1997 → Fall Fertilization Effects on Douglas-fir Seedling Nutrition in the Nursery

Fall Fertilization Effects on Douglas-fir Seedling Nutrition in the Nursery

The objective of forest tree nurseries is to produce seedlings that meet specified targets, i.e. those morphological and physiological characteristics that can be quantitatively linked with reforestation success (Rose et al. 1990). With limitations on vegetative control techniques, it is increasingly important to reforest with quality seedlings capable of rapid establishment in the midst of competing vegetation to provide rapid return on investment. Standard grading practices, which measure height and diameter to ensure the seedlings meet specified criteria, are easy to do, but these measurements alone do not fully describe the physiological condition of seedlings and as such are not very useful for predicting outplanting performance in terms of survival and subsequent growth. Physiological characteristics such as seedling water status, mineral nutrition, carbohydrate content, and cold hardiness are more difficult and time consuming to measure, but provide more pertinent physiological information for predicting outplanting performance (Ritchie 1984, Rose et al. 1990).


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Author(s): Robin Rose, Todd Birchler

Event: Symposium Proceedings: Forest Seedling Nutrition from the Nursery to the Field
1997