WATER RELATIONS OF FIELD-GROWN QUERCUS-VIRGINIANA MILL FROM PREHARVEST THROUGH CONTAINERIZATION AND 1 YEAR INTO A LANDSCAPE

Large (approximate to 5 m high) Quercus virginiana Mill. Give oak) tre es produced in 0.64-m-diameter in-ground fabric containers were root p runed or not root pruned inside containers before harvest. Harvested t rees were grown in two sizes of polyethylene containers for 10 months, then transplanted into a landscape. Water potential (psi(T) of small branches (<4 mm in diameter) was measured diurnally during containeriz ation and for 1 year in the landscape. Root pruning had no influence o n postharvest survival. Neither root pruning nor container size affect ed tree water status during containerization or in the landscape. All surviving trees recovered from transplant shock following harvest afte r 16 weeks in a container, independent of treatment. In the landscape, 35 weeks Of daily irrigation were required before dusk W, declined to within 0.1 MPa of predawn values, a result indicating alleviation of transplant shock. Trunk growth rate during containerization was highes t in larger containers. However, in the landscape, root pruning and sm all containers were associated with higher trunk growth rate. Tree wat er status during containerization and in the landscape is discussed.