Effect of nursery nitrogen application of bare-root Larix olgensis seedlings on growth, nitrogen uptake and initial field performance.

Nursery nitrogen application has been used to improve seedling quality. The technique has received little attention with bare-root seedlings and their subsequent field performance on weed competition sites. Our research objective was to examine responses of one- and two- year-old bare-root Olga Bay larch (Larix olgensis Henry) seedlings to nursery nitrogen supplements and subsequent one-year field performance on a competitive site. The fertilizer levels (kg N ha-1) were 0 (control), 60 (conventional fertilization, 60 C), 120 (additional nitrogen applied two times, 120 L), 180 (additional nitrogen applied three times, 180 L) and N were applied in increments of 30 kg ha-1 at 15-day interval to maintain a base nutrient level. Although pre-planting morphological attributes and nitrogen status of one-year-old (1a) seedlings were more sensitive to 60 C than for two-year-old (2a) seedlings, the conventional application failed to enhance their field survival(15.6% vs 17.8%), relative height growth (89.0% vs 79.6%), and relative diameter growth (17.0% vs 22.9%). The 1a seedlings‘ field survival (15.6% for 0, 17.8% for 60 C) and 2a seedlings‘ relative height growth rate (11.0% for 0, 8.9% for 60 C) were not increased significantly until they were provided the 120 L (survival of 23.3% for 1a, relative height growth rate of 15.0% for 2a). According to pre-planting attributes and field performance, optimum nursery nitrogen application was 120 L for the 2a seedlings and 180 L for 1a seedlings. Except for component nitrogen concentration, pre-planting morphological attributes and component N content for the 2a seedlings were as much 3.3 to 37.7 times that of 1a seedlings. In conclusion, the contrasting survival of poor (15.6%-28.9%) for 1a seedlings and high (84.4%-91.1%) for 2a seedlings indicated that additional nitrogen fertilizer would not equal the benefits of an another year‘s growth in the nursery. Successful reforestation could not be fulfilled by 1a seedlings regardless of their pre-nutrients. An alternative technique for sites with competing vegetation was to apply 120kg N ha-1 in the nursery during July and August on 2a seedlings.

Effects of spacing and post-planting treatments on survival and growth of Fraxinus angustifolia seedlings.

This study was conducted at a bottomland hardwood site with heavy textured soil in Akyazi, Turkey to determine the effect of initial spacing (3.0 x 3.0, 3.0 x 2.0, 2.5 x 1.6 and 2.5 x 1.2 m) and post-planting treatments (untreated check, moving, hoeing, disking, and hoeing plus disking) on early survival and growth of Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl. One-year old bare-root seedlings (70±5 cm in height) were hand-planted in December 2004. Through three years survival was perfect with a rate of 98% in all treatments. Spacing and the interaction between spacing and post-planting treatment did not significantly affect seedling growth through three years. However, height and diameter growth increased over time and differed significantly among post-planting treatments. The hoeing and hoeing plus disking treatments gave the highest growth, and resulted in about 31% increase in diameter and height increment, and in total diameter and height about 20%. These results suggest that post-planting treatments on bottomland sites with heavy textured soil give promising results.

Production, Application, and Field Performance of AbietivTM, the Balsam Fir Sawfly Nucleopolyhedrovirus / 中国病毒学

Beginning in the early 1990s, the balsam fir sawfly (Neodiprion abietis) became a significant defoliating insect of precommercially thinned balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) stands in western Newfoundland, Canada. In 1997, a nucleopolyhedrovirus (NeabNPV) was isolated from the balsam fir sawfly and, as no control measures were then available, NeabNPV was developed for the biological control of balsam fir sawfly. In order to register NeabNPV for operational use under the Canadian Pest Control Products Act, research was carried out in a number of areas including NeabNPV field efficacy, non-target organism toxicology, balsam fir sawfly ecology and impact on balsam fir trees, and NeabNPV genome sequencing and analysis. As part of the field efficacy trials, approximately 22 500 hectares of balsam fir sawfly-infested forest were aerially treated with NeabNPV between 2000 and 2005. NeabNPV was found to be safe, efficacious, and economical for the suppression of balsam fir sawfly outbreak populations. Conditional registration for the NeabNPV-based product, Abietiv(, was received from the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (Health Canada) in April 2006. In July 2006, Abietiv was applied by spray airplanes to 15 000 ha of balsam fir sawfly-infested forest in western Newfoundland in an operational control program.