EFFECTS OF SPACING AND PRUNING INTENSITY ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF EUCALYPTUS CAMALDULENSIS DEHNH. PLANTATIONS

Abstract

Studies on the effects of 3 planting spaces (2 x 2, 2 x 4 and 2 x 8 m) and 2 levels of pruning, 3 times in each operation with 3-5-9 m and 5-7-11 m aboveground and control at 3, 4 and 6-year old of Eucalyplus camaldulensis plantations were carried out at Somdet plantation, Kalasin province. Growth in mean diameter at breast height, mean total tree height and biomass yields were followed up from 2-year old to 8-year old in the three replicated plots of split-plot in RBD. The studies revealed that growth characteristics of diameter and height affected by stand age and the two treatments were best explained by the Gompertz growth model. Effects of planting spaces and pruning intensities on growth of tree sizes of 8-year old plantations were found to be statistically different by which in the 2 x 8 m planting space plots, the mean diameter and mean total tree height were larger than in the 2 x 2 m planting space plots which were as low as in the 2 x 4 m planting space plots except for the mean total tree height in the closed space plots that were the lowest. Both pruning intensities were found to be the cause for the equivalent lowest tree sizes but the light pruning plots were not different from the control plots. The analysis of competition-density effects separated into each stand operation were also included and the results discussed in these studies.