Effect of pruning on growth of hybrid poplar
Effect of pruning on growth of hybrid poplar
Ghayyas Ahmad, Anwar Ali, Miskeen Ali and Irfan Akhtar
ABSTRACT
Pruning of trees is common practice for the production of knot-free timber. However, it may lead to reduction in growth rate of the tree. Populus euramericana cv-1-214 is a hybrid poplar that has been planted on a large scale in Pakistan for the production of low to medium quality timber. This long term study, covering almost the complete rotation length of the Hybrid poplar, was conducted to find out the effects of three different intensities of pruning i.e. pruning upto ½ height, pruning upto ⅓ height and no pruning, on its diameter and height growth rate. The Randomized Complete Block Design was used. Data were analysed using the Analysis of Variance procedure and the Duncan multiple range test. Results reveal that at 5% level of significance there were significant differences between the three treatments as far as diameter growth was concerned. As regards the effect on height growth, no significant differences between the three treatments were observed. It is concluded that pruning of hybrid poplar may result in the production of good quality knot-free timber but it may reduce its volume considerably if the intensity of pruning is high.
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June 2006
Vol. 56, Iss. 2
