Bud Necrosis of Green Ash Nursery Trees Is Influenced by Nitrogen Availability and Fertilizer Type

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine whether the nitrogen (N) status of nursery-grown green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica ‘Summit’) trees in the autumn is related to bud necrosis during the following spring. In 2005, different rates of N from urea formaldehyde (UF) or a controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) containing ammonium nitrate were applied during the growing season to green ash trees and leaves were sprayed or not with urea in the autumn. Biomass and N content was determined in Autumn 2005 and Spring 2006, and stem biomass and bud necrosis were evaluated for necrosis in Spring 2006. Trees with low N content in Autumn 2005 grew less in Spring 2006 but bud necrosis was more prevalent on trees grown at the highest N rate. Compared with trees grown with a similar amount of N from UF, growing trees with CRF altered N allocation in 2005 and the relationship between carbon (C) and N dynamics (import, export, and metabolism) in stems in 2006. Additionally, trees grown with CRF had less total shoot biomass in Spring 2006 and more bud failure than trees grown with a similar N rate from UF. Significant relationships between bud failure and N status and C/N ratios in different tissues suggest that a combination of tree N status and the balance between N and C in certain tissues plays a role in the occurrence of bud failure of green ash trees in the spring.