Forest Nursery Practices in the South

Abstract

Abstract Southern forest nurseries produce 80 percent of the bare-root seedlings grown in the United States (nearly 1.3 billion out of 1.6 billion in 1980). Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) alone accounts for most of the reforestation in this country. Responses by southern nurserymen to a questionnaire were compiled in order to document the practices currently employed to produce southern pine seedlings. In comparison with forest industry nurseries, public nurseries tend to be older and larger, are less mechanized, employ more handweeding, use less cover crops, and produce a greater number of species. The most notable changes occurring in the past 50 years include increased production, a change in the favored species produced, increased chemical pest control, increased mechanical harvesting, and a shift in nursery site selection to sandier soils.