Promising introduced Black Cottonwood species for bioenergy and forage production

Abstract

The winter-hardy introduced North American Populus trichocarpa Torr. & Gray is of particular interest. The results of the study of some clones of poplar on the experimental sites of the Voronezh region are presented. It was found that the rootability of standard stem cuttings of poplar was 98-100%. The survival of plants during the first 3-5 years varied from 75 to 100%. The growing season in different years was 135-146 days. The yield of standard cuttings on root-cutting plantations under favorable conditions and optimal age varied in different clones from 592 000 to 1 380 000 pieces per ha. The wood stock at the age of economical exploitability (~25 years) reached 400 m3/ha, while the stock of local balsam poplar at the same age reached 220 m3/ha. The green mass of leaves contained 0.22-0.28 feed units/kg. In addition, the content of digestible protein, calcium, phosphorus, carotene, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, nitrogen-free extractives and ash was determined. In general, studied clones of P. trichocarpa can be used in short rotation coppices for bioenergy and feed production, as well as in reclamation plantings. Clones of the poplar can be used in hybridization with black poplars to increase their winter hardiness.