Maintenance and Follow-up after Planting Longleaf Pine

Bill Pickens

Pine Silvicultralist

Follow-up

Survival

End of 1st growing season ?

End of the 2nd growing season?

Once height growth initiates ?

Follow-up

Survival

Free -to Grow Competition

Survival

Minimum number ? 250 -300 per acre landowner objectives

Distribution evenly distributed?

Replanting - interplant pro’s and con’s

Competition

• Vegetative Competition• Grasses a problem early • Woody species later on

• Hardwoods

• Loblolly

Competition Control

Herbicides Prescribed Burn Mechanical

Herbicides

• The best time to treat competitive vegetation is prior to planting

Herbicides

• Herbicide rates are higher on clay sites and sites with high organic matter. Higher rates needed for effective control may be toxic to young LL seedlings

• pH increases the efficacy of OUSTTM.

Decrease to 1oz. Per acre if pH is > 6.0

Herbicides

• High quality sites, especially those with grass component, will require one maybe two release treatments

Herbicides

• Herbicides are generally less effective in drought conditions

• Stressed LL seedlings more susceptible to toxic effects (Don’t apply unless 3-4 inches of new root growth is present)

• Fall planted seedlings may be less susceptible

• Application timing is critical

Prescribed Burn

• LL fire -resistant in the grass stage• minimum 1/2 RCD

• Susceptibility increases after height initiation

• Fire resistance increases for trees greater than 4 feet high and greater than 3” ground line diameter

• Low-intensity fire

Prescribed Burn

• Loblolly susceptible up to sapling size

• Repeated prescribed burns needed to control hardwoods

• Growing season burns more effective

• Good for Wildlife, good ecologically

• Repeated burns will effect growth and thus yield

Mechanical

• Drum Chopper- between the rows

• Chainsaws, brush saws, machetes, etc

• Labor intensive

• environmental friendly

Pest Control Less susceptible than other SYP

Fusiform rust - rarely a problem Pitch Canker - locally somewhat Brown spot needle blight - major disease, not

as severe in NC SPB- does not infest severely Ips Beetle -after lightning Turpentine Beetle following fire Pales Weevil

Brown Spot Needle Blight

• Effects Needles and slows growth

• Prolongs grass-stage

• Continued severe infestation causes mortality

• Controlled by prescribed burn

Pales weevil damage on Longleaf seedling

• Web worm damage to a three year old LL sapling

Defoliation by Red-headed sawfly

Other Damaging Agents

• Lighting

• Windthrow

• Ice Storms

• Flooding