Performance of Container and Bareroot Loblolly Pine Seedlings on Bottomlands in South Carolina

The performance of container and bareroot loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L. ) seedlings from the same improved seedlot was compared on highly productive bottomland sites in South Carolina. At the time of planting, size and quality of the open-grown container stock were equal to or better than bareroot material. When outplanting conditions were ideal, field plantings in March, April, and May of 2 successive years indicated equal performance of the 2 stock types. When conditions were more stre.ssfu1, container stock survived andgrew better than bareroot seedlings. Needle-tip burn caused by postplanting app1ication.s of herbicides had no long-term effects on seedling growth. South. J . Appl. For. 17(2): 80-83. Container southern pine seedlings survive or grow better than conventional bareroot stock, particularly on droughty or marginal sites (Amidon et al. 1982, Bamett 1984, Boyer 1989, Goodwin 1976). The advantages of container seedlings seem to vary by species, site, method of site preparation, and planting date (South and Bamett 1986). Owston and Stein (1974) suggested that to ensure an unbiased comparison of container and bareroot stock, the seed source should be the same, and both stock types should be planted at the same time and by the same person or crew. Few studies have followed all of these recommendations (Brissette and Bamett 1989, South and Bamett 1986). Most of the reported comparisons were conducted on adverse sites where field performance of container stock was better than bareroot seedlings because the intact root system of the container seedlings limited the transplanting shock that is common with bareroot seedlings (Bamett 1984). The question of relative performance on high quality sites has not been adequately addressed, although some results indicate that performance is about equal on such sites (South and Barnett 1986). In addition, the early studies did not consider the morphological or physiological characteristics of planting stock. NOTE. The Santee River and Congaree River Limited Partnerships provided study sites, partial funding, and other resources to conduct the study, and Milliken Forestry Company and Sid McKnight, Consulting Forester, Inc. , provided support during study installation and implementation. In this study, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L. ) seedling performance was compared between container and bareroot stock outplanted on different dates on a highly productive bottomland site along the Santee River in South Carolina.