Objectives:

• To determine whether satisfactory lodgepole pine planting stock can be raised in copper-coated styrocontainers under normal production conditions.
• To compare growth and mechanical stability in conventional lodgepole pine plug seedlings with that in seedlings from copper-coated containers.

Experimental Design:

Treatments

• Three depths of copper coating (3.75 cm, 5.5 cm and 11 cm),
• Two concentrations (0.1 kg/l and 0.33 kg/l)
• Three seed lots (1969, 2227, and 3130 ("local")
• Untreated control.

Layout:

There are two 25 m by 48 m plots. Each plot contains 24 lines with one randomly assigned line of each treatment, plus two control lines of each seedlot.

History:

• 1978 Establishment and First Assessment
• 1979 - 1982 Annual assessments with progress reports in 1981 and 1982
• 1984 Supplementary assessments
• 1991 Stand cleaning and tree assessments

Status: Dormant

Reports and Publications:

Burdett, A.N., 1981. Box-pruning the Roots of Container grown Seedlings, Proc. Canadian Containerized Tree Seedling Symposium.

Burdett, A.N., D.G. Simpson and C.F. Thompson, 1983. Root Development and Plantation Establishment Success. Plant and Soil 71: 103-110.

Konowalyk, L and C. Thompson, 1997. Growth and root form of lodgepole pine grown in copper-treated containers. Draft Final Report (Field phase) EP 791.01, BC Min For, Nelson Forest Region.

Comments:

Copper treatment produced early root forms that closer resembled natural root forms than did conventionally grown lodgepole pine seedlings. After 13 years there was no detectable difference in root forms.

This project was established by Chris Thompson. Since his retirement, it has been overseen by Deb Delong.