Jm. Climent et al., INCREASE OF FLOWERING IN PINUS-NIGRA ARN SUBSP SALZMANNII (DUNAL) FRANCO BY MEANS OF HETEROPLASTIC GRAFTS, Annales des Sciences Forestieres, 54(2), 1997, pp. 145-153
Behaviour of black pine (Pinus nigra subsp salzmannii) ramets grafted
in 1987 on P nigra and P brutia rootstocks was compared in a clonal se
ed orchard located in Guadalajara (Spain). Graft take percentage was l
ower on average and more variable between clones for interspecific uni
ons than for intraspecific ones; however, later field survival was rat
her similar. Between 1990 and 1994, heteroplastic grafts displayed a f
emale flowering ranging from four to 13 times higher than homoplastic
ones depending on the year, and with 5 years of age, interspecific gra
fts produced male strobili, nearly absent in the second group. Althoug
h seed production is still scarce, due to lack of pollination, heterop
lastic ramets seem to yield bigger cones with more sound seeds per con
e. Significant differences between both types of grafts were observed
regarding stem diameter, branching pattern, apical dominance and crown
width. Differentiation of lateral shoots, both floral and vegetative,
was higher in heteroplastic grafts, resulting not only in more branch
es, but also in more strobili of both sexes per branch. Heteroplastic
ramets displayed a marked tendency to lose apical dominance. thus supp
orting their higher number of shoots since the number of branches per
whorl is equal in both groups. These results suggest that utilization
of P nigra grafts on P brutia rootstocks, in similar site conditions,
may be a helpful tool to obtain more precocious and abundant fruit yie
lds than those derived from the more common use of homoplastic grafts.