Effects of site, clone and age on growth and wood quality of short rotation willow

Abstract

The aim of the work was to asses the effects of site, clone and age on current annual increment, fibre length and wood density of 5 willow clones (S. babylonica var sacramenta «american»; hybrids of S. babylonica x S. alba «A 250-33» y «A 131-25» y S. matsudana x S. alba «A 13-44» y «NZ 26992»). Sites chosen were: Delta Medio (DM) del Río Paraná, Entre Ríos and Continental (C) Buenos Aires, Argentina. 13 years old trees were sampled and measurements of total height, diameter, growth rings, fibre length, wood density taken at 3 positions (ages) in each sample. Basal areas of current annual increments and weighted length and density were calculated. It was found that clone × site × age interaction was significant. The annual increments were found to be dependent on the site, the clone and the age under analysis. Weighted fibre length and wood density were found to be good estimates of wood quality, so the maximum fibre and density value depends both on clone growth patterns, implantation site and age. For American willow and hybrid 26992 of DM, the production of wood quality attained a maximum at 7 years old.