Maintenance and Follow-up after Planting Longleaf Pine

1. Maintenance and Follow-up after Planting Longleaf Pine Bill Pickens Pine Silvicultralist

2. Follow-up • Survival • End of 1st growing season ? • End of the 2nd growing season? • Once height growth initiates ?

3. Follow-up • Survival • Free -to Grow • Competition

5. Survival • Minimum number ? • 250 -300 per acre • landowner objectives • Distribution • evenly distributed? • Replanting - interplant pro’s and con’s

10. Competition • Vegetative Competition • Grasses a problem early • Woody species later on • Hardwoods • Loblolly

14. Competition Control • Herbicides • Prescribed Burn • Mechanical

15. Herbicides • The best time to treat competitive vegetation is prior to planting

16. Herbicides • Herbicide rates are higher on clay sites and sites with high organic matter. Higher rates needed for effective control may be toxic to young LL seedlings • pH increases the efficacy of OUSTTM. Decrease to 1oz. Per acre if pH is > 6.0

17. Herbicides • High quality sites, especially those with grass component, will require one maybe two release treatments

18. Herbicides • Herbicides are generally less effective in drought conditions • Stressed LL seedlings more susceptible to toxic effects (Don’t apply unless 3-4 inches of new root growth is present) • Fall planted seedlings may be less susceptible • Application timing is critical

19. Prescribed Burn • LL fire -resistant in the grass stage • minimum 1/2 RCD • Susceptibility increases after height initiation • Fire resistance increases for trees greater than 4 feet high and greater than 3” ground line diameter • Low-intensity fire

20. Prescribed Burn • Loblolly susceptible up to sapling size • Repeated prescribed burns needed to control hardwoods • Growing season burns more effective • Good for Wildlife, good ecologically • Repeated burns will effect growth and thus yield

32. Mechanical • Drum Chopper- between the rows • Chainsaws, brush saws, machetes, etc • Labor intensive • environmental friendly

33. Pest Control • Less susceptible than other SYP • Fusiform rust - rarely a problem • Pitch Canker - locally somewhat • Brown spot needle blight - major disease, not as severe in NC • SPB- does not infest severely • Ips Beetle -after lightning • Turpentine Beetle following fire • Pales Weevil

34. Brown Spot Needle Blight • Effects Needles and slows growth • Prolongs grass-stage • Continued severe infestation causes mortality • Controlled by prescribed burn

38. Pales weevil damage on Longleaf seedling

40. Web worm damage to a three year old LL sapling

41. Defoliation by Red-headed sawfly

42. Other Damaging Agents • Lighting • Windthrow • Ice Storms • Flooding