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5.6 Radiata Pine Cuttings
Authors: D G Holden, M I MenziesPublication: NZIF Forestry Handbook, Volume Section 5 – Plantation silviculture, pp 6, Dec 2023
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry
Abstract: Radiata pine cuttings were successfully rooted and grown in the field in New Zealand as early as 1930 but were not evaluated extensively in field trials until some 30-40 years later. The cuttings used in most of the earlier trials were taken from donor trees aged from 5 to 25 years, with the aim of reproducing selected trees for clonal forestry. Although the cuttings generally showed improved form compared with seedlings, their diameter and volume growth were significantly slower, which was unacceptable for forest management. More recently, cuttings taken from donor trees of a younger age (fewer than 5 years) have been compared with conventional seedlings on both farm and forest sites. Results from these trials have shown that considerable improvement in form can be achieved without any loss of growth by planting rooted cuttings instead of seedlings.