Pine Mortality Explained

AUBURN, Ala.— Planting of pine trees on land in the Federal Conservation Reserve Program has been a popular land-use practice in past years. However, unexpectedly high mortality of seedlings on some sites has been a problem.

Research conducted through the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station at Auburn University by Bob Mitchell, associate professor of forestry at Auburn, showed that mortality of seedlings on these abandoned agricultural fields was associated with three main factors. These include: root-feeding insects, such as white grubs and white fringe beetles in larvae; root pathogenic fungi, such as Fusarium and Macrophomina, with possible interactions with several species of nematodes; and the presence of a plow pan that can exacerbate these biotic stresses during dry years. The study also showed that residual herbicides left over from past agricultural production of soybeans on the land and those used to control herbaceous competitors during pine establishment were not responsible for the observed mortality.

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Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
Contact Katie Jackson, 334-844-5886 or smithcl@auburn.edu

02/17/92