Cone Production and Seed Yield of Lodgepole Pine Grafts

Abstract

Cone production records over a 12-year period from two clonebanks (SCA and SK) indicate that Red Rock is a suitable location for lodgepole pine seed orchards for central interior British Columbia. Both seed and pollen cone production increased rapidly every year and reached their peak in 1982, 10 years after their establishment; a sharp decline occurred in 1983, but cone production recovered to the 1982 level in 1984, On an average, in 1982, the two clonebanks produced 237 seed cones and 186 pollen cones per living graft. Clonal differences were large, and a good cone producer continued to produce more cones year after year. Regular pollen cone production lagged behind seed cone production by about 5 years. Clones from the Yukon and northern British Columbia started to produce seed cones earlier than those of more southern origins; but the latter, despite being less precocious, eventually outproduced the northern ones. Southward transfer of lodgepole pine grafts is not necessarily beneficial to cone production. Average mature cone length was 41 mm, width 24 mm, and weight 7.1 g; average number of seeds per cone was 23 and 100-seed weight was 0.4 mg. Clonal differences were also large for these traits. Key Words: lodgepole pine, clonebank, seed cone, pollen cone, central British Columbia.