Survival, growth, and acornet production of artificially regenerated northern red oak on two high-quality mesic sites at year seven
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Open-pollinated, half-sib northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) 1-0 seedlings were grown under an improved nursery protocol. Minimum seedling grading standards for this test were six first-order lateral roots, 8-cm root-collar diameter, and 0.7-m height. At the Brasstown site on a salvage clearcut in North Georgia, we spot-applied glyphosate herbicide annually for 6 years to prevent the seedlings from being overtopped. At the Wayah shelterwood site (30 trees/ha) in western North Carolina, we restricted herbicide applications and used brush saws to clear around each planted seedling after the fourth and the sixth growing seasons. The northern red oak trees on the Brasstown site performed significantly better for all parameters. At Brasstown site, trees from eight of the nine families produced an acornet crop at year seven. We observed no acornets or acorns at the Wayah site. We attributed differences in response between the two primarily to inadequate control of rapidly growing competing vegetation on the Wayah site.