D3o—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 19,1984 '
Pelleted herbicide provides double forestry benefits
UNIVERSITY PARK - Pelleted
fenuron herbicides can convert low
quality, slow-growing stands of
oak-hickory timber into high
yielding Japanese larch, leaving
“cured on the stump” firewood,
according to experiments at Penn
State.
Robert D. Shipman, forest
scientist in charge of the ex
periments, said the chief biological
tool used in the trials was a non
volatile 'pellet about the size of an
aspirin tablet, effective in killing
unwanted low-grade hardwoods.
Fast-growing two-year old
Japanese larch seedlings were
planted under the dying hard
woods.
“After 16 years, the survival,
growth, and yield of Japanese
larch was found to be directly
related to herbicide rate, toxic
effect on trees, and method of
application,” Shipman stated.
The seedlings were planted at a
6-by-6 foot spacing beneath the
canopy of a low-grade, 55 to 60-
year-old oak and hickory stand on
the Allegheny Plateau near
Philipsburg. Pellets were placed
on the soil surface in grid, row, and
broadcast patterns.
The best 18-year-old larch
averaged 38 feet in height, 4.6
inches in diameter, and produced
17 cords of wood per acre. In
growing these trees, fenuron
herbicide pellets were applied in a
grid pattern at an 11 pound-per
acre rate.
The poorest larch growth took
place on plots not treated with the
herbicide. After 16 years, these
LOOK & COMPARE
10" JET TILTING ARBOR
TABLE SAW
• Motor w/M«(n«Uc Control Switch
• 2 HP, Sgl. Ph„ 115/230 V
(prewired II5V)
*1,417
Sawi
EMERSON Her Band.Naw
Hyd M S«rin(Hd Hdr Band
Nn ’*.200
♦ViW JET Hor /Vart Band. Naw >2*o
35Vi" JET Vart. Band w/BladaWaMar *4,390
LaHwa
17"l40" MONARCH Omt H«*d. 0 C.«/
AccmmHm.
10”i24" JCT 0 C w/C Pm Turrat
CoiacK CtoMf, LomM . . ..
Punch and Dies and Press Brake Tooling. Call For Details.
BLUE BALL MACHINE WORKS
Rt. 322 East, Blue Ball. PA 17906
trees averaged only 11 feet in
height and one-inch diameter.
Untreated plots produced only one
cord of pulpwood per acre.
Equally important, Shipman
said, is the additional yield of 18
cords per acre of dead, herbicide
treated red and white oaks that can
be used by the landowner or sold as
standing “cured on the stump”
f ,v '”vood. Several deed trees per
UNIVERSITY PARK - Trees
vary greatly in their resistance to
toxic elements in acid soils, ex
periments at Penn State indicate.
In some cases, the ability to live
and grow in toxic conditions can
vary even within a species, ac
cording to Larry H. McCormick
and Kim C. Steiner of the School of
Forest Resources.
Fran their research, they advise
landowners to replant acid soils
with trees known to resist toxic
conditions. Thus far they have
found the European black alder,
birches, oaks and pines to be fairly
resistant to acid soil conditions.
They claim toxic concentrations
of aluminum often develop in acid
soils such as found in surface
mined coal areas.
“Improving the soil by applying
lime and plant nutrients in fer
tilizers is effective but expensive
and only temporary,” McCormick
observed. “As the lime and
nutrients are exhausted, acid soils
revert to their original conditioh,”
he added.
Tree species evaluated were
Fabricating Machinary
12 Ton Model Cl Prooo 081
lO'oW BETENBENDER Hyd Shun,
MIC A $q Ann. Now
52”i20Q0 Hond Broke
30 Ton IRONCRAFTER Ironworker, Hyd.
NowSpocM
47 Ton BUFFALO Hyd Ironworkor, "79”
liko Now. w/Funchoo. *12.500
M-3 Ton Now ARBOR Frooooo
»1C Go NATIONAL Hond Broke.
UkoNow
4B" 12 Go Tonmmtth Fingor Broke.
Woodworking
12” 4odnw« Wood Lath* w/Tumin*
Tool*. Utod
1C" MMitta Rowuw 1211 C Sind* Mom
Bondww, 2 HF *1,390
11/.”I 1 /.” SpMl* Mtroo Shapor. Mod*! 3000.
Loh Motor, Now *3,490
12" Jolntor Mtrao, MoM MOO, Lou
MolOf« Nmv
*2,550
W SpimM* Shaper. 1 HP Sir** PhaM. Nm
JWS-lt *3H
14" Bmtfuw M, 1 HPSlnfk Phna.
Naww/Stand
•1,459
MlccallaMou*
No 2M CINCINNATI Hor Millw/Powor
IndoiHood
INGERSOL RAND Typo 30 Vacuum Pump.
Robutt .. *9OO
GORTON VortertMmmModitno. IQSpoo*.
2 H.R. wICoMa, »"«30" TaMt *1.1*9
•2.400
•3.1*9
(717) 354-4478
Mon.-Frl. 7:30-5; Sat 7:30-11:30
acre should be left to provide dens
and nesting sites for wildlife, he
suggested.
Japanese larch was chosen for
stand conversion because of its
nearly “deer proof” fast growth
and high yields of wood per acre -
useful as pulpwood, poles, or small
sawtimber. If the terminal bud is
eaten by deer, the tree produces a
Toxic resistance varies among trees
yellow, gray and paper birches; were also relatively sensitive, with
Scotch and Virginia pines; pin and essentially no root growth at
red oaks; European black alder; concentrations above 40 parts of
autumn-olive; and a hybrid poplar aluminum to one million parts of
clone (cutting) identified as NE- water.
388. European black alder, birches,
“We measured aluminum
resistance by comparing reduction
in root elongation in a series of
culture tanks in a greenhouse,”
McCormick explained. “By
growing seedling plants in
solutions, with and without
aluminum, we were able to
distinguish true aluminum
resistance from inherent dif
ferences in growth rate.”
Hybrid poplars in the ex
periments were extremely sen
sitive to concentrations as low as
10 parts of aluminum to one million
parts of water. Autumn-olives
WHY HAVE OVER 60 POULTRYMEN REPLACED
THEIR DROPPING BOARDS WITH CHEMGRO’S
HIGH DENSITY PLASTIC DROPPING BOARDS?
•790
•22,750
*9OO
*4.199
*3,200
•3,495
•775
'399
•2,*W
new one - unlike planted red and
white pine.
Larch is suitable for genetic
improvement, it was noted. It
hybridizes readily, has good wood
quality, resists red pine canker
and spruce budworm, and is
adapted to a variety of soils.
Fifteen years ago, Shipman
noted, most forest landowners
were reluctant to attempt a stand
As for variation within species,
both pin oak and paper birch
showed large differences in
resisting toxicity. Some genetic
“families” of both pin oak and
paper birch were not r ff °eted by
aluminum, while root growth in
others was reduced by as much as
60 percent.
The Penn Staters observed that
different clones of hybrid poplar
also vary in their resistance to
aluminum toxicity. Of 22 clones
QUESTION?
ANSWER!
ITS SIMPLE, OUR BOARD IS UNMATCHED
IN THE INDUSTRY!
• SUPERIOR STRENGTH AND DURABILITY
• THICKNESS. A FULL V 4" THICK
• WILL NOT RUST OR CORRODE
• AVAILABLE IN 8' AND 10’ SECTIONS
• FITS MOST MAJOR CAGE SYSTEMS
• ALL NECESSARY HARDWARE AVAILABLE
• PLASTIC SCRAPER BLADES ALSO AVAILABLE
• BOARDS FULLY GUARANTEED BY MANUFACTURER
CALL TODAY: AND SEE THE BOARD
riSSi[:-=«!
oaks and pines were resistant up to
120 parts of aluminum to one
million parts of water.
WET
BREWER'S GRAINS
25% Dry Matter
32% Crude Protein
215-351-9211
conversion from one species to
another through cutting, planting,
or weeding.
Today, however, investment in
forest conversion has become
more attractive to landowners, he
commented. The change come
with development of safe, ef
fective, low-cost herbicides - and
increased use of wood for fuel.
tested at low concentrations of
aluminum, root growth was
reduced anywhere from zero to 93
percent. Thus, selecting the most
aluminum-tolerant clones for
planting on acid soils is very im
portant.
Loan rate
established
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Com
modity and farm storage loans
disbursed in May by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s
Commodity Credit Corporation
will carry a 10-7/8 percent interest
rate, according to CCC Executive
Vice President Everett Rank.
The new rate, up from 10-3/8
percent, reflects the interest rate
charged by the U.S. Treasury in
May, Rank said.