Nutrition and irrigation regime affect size and early growth of white oak seedlings
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
Modifications of our nursery protocol for oaks during 1997 and 1998 by instituting dormant season irrigation resulted in high white oak seedling quality. The improved growth was associated with the consistent presence of succulent fibrous roots on the upper 10 to 15 cm of taproots. Many of these fibrous roots on 1-1 stock were as sturdy as many of the permanent first-order lateral roots. White oak seedlings from the 1998 nursery crop grown under the modified irrigation schedule have developed well in the field. At age 4 many are 4.0 m tall with up to 50 mm stem diameters.