Developmental dynamics of longleaf pine seedling flushes and needles
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Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) seedlings were grown for 27 weeks in containers of three cavity sizes and two cavity types (with and without copper coating) and then outplanted in central Louisiana in November 2004. Three seedlings from each plot were assessed repeatedly for shoot flush and needle development in 2007 and 2008. Cavity type had no effect on seedling size or number of flushes. Cavity size did not affect number of flushes or needle length. However, seedlings grown in large cavities were taller than seedlings from medium and small cavities. Within each cavity size class, the first flush formed was the longest, and flushes formed thereafter were of similar lengths. Needles from flushes formed later in the year were shorter than those from the earlier flushes. Except for the first flush, it took needles twofold to threefold more time to complete elongation than the flushes.