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Home → Publications → Tree Planters' Notes → Tree Planters' Notes Volume 21, Number 2 (1970) → Long-Time Effects of Damage by Rabbits to Newly Planted Southern Pines

Long-Time Effects of Damage by Rabbits to Newly Planted Southern Pines

It is not uncommon for cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus spp.) to bite off large numbers of newly planted southern pine seedlings within an inch or two of the ground. In normal weather and on reasonably favorable sites, many of the injured seedlings recover by sprouting, and no special action is necessary to insure an adequate stand. Because of uncertainty concerning the continued survival and growth of sprouted seedlings, however, planters in localities where damage is extensive sometimes treat their planting stock with rabbit repellents (2, 5). They do so even though the repellents not only increase costs but also may injure stock in storage or transit (1, 3) . Such precautionary treatment may be unwarranted. In a recent study in Texas, Hunt (4) found that loblolly pine seedlings clipped by rabbits not only survived nearly as well as those unclipped but also grew at about the same rate during the first 4 years after planting. The data presented here extend and corroborate Hunt's results by showing that, when recovery by sprouting has been good, the effects of firstyear damage to slash, shortleaf, and loblolly seedlings may be moderate to negligible after 30 years.


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Author(s): Philip C. Wakeley

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 21, Number 2 (1970)

Volume: 21

Number: 2