Studies on the Establishment of Open Root Caribbean Pine Planting Stock in Southern Queensland

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Abstract
Local and international Caribbean pine establishment practices use costly containerised planting stock. This paper describes the development of an inexpensive seedling conditioning regime which permits successful planting of open root Caribbean pine stock. Trials were conducted at two coastal centres in Southern Queensland, Byfield and Beerwah. Initially stock were subjected to mild in situ root wrenching schedules (roots cut at a depth of 20cm, maximum of three wrenchings) alone or in combination with a heeling-in treatment. These conditioning treatments proved too conservative. More intensive root wrenching regimes (less than 15cm deep at weekly, fortnightly and monthly intervals over a 16 week period) were adopted. Frequent root wrenching stimulated lateral root development and reduced shoot growth in the nursery and gave acceptable stock survivals in the field over a range of planting conditions. The root wrenching-stock conditioning procedure has been mechanised and tested successfully under routine production conditions.