Some Factors Affecting the Growth and Survival of Multiflora Rose as Cover for Quail in Davis County, Iowa

Abstract

Studies have been in progress for several years on the management of bob-white quail (Colinus v. virginianus L.) on a 620-acre state-owned public shooting tract near Eldon, in Davis County, Iowa. This area is typical of the hill land of south central Iowa. Adequate cover is important in quail management. Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora thunbergiana Thory) is one of the plants that has possibilities in helping meet these needs. Eldon, Iowa is in the Temperate Zone 4, about 90 miles north of the northern most boundary of Zone 5, in which this rose is most hardy. (Rehder, Manual of cultivated trees and shrubs hardy in North America. MacMillan Co., N. Y., 1947). Plantings were made at the Davis County tract in the spring of 1946 to determine if multiflora rose was adapted to the climatic conditions of that area and also to study some of the soils and cultural practices best adapted to growing this plant. The plantings were made on different soil types, depth of topsoil, and with different cultural and fertility practices. The rose seedlings were received late in April, 1946, from the U. S. Soil Conservation Nursery, Elsberry, Missouri. Approximately 85 percent of the 11,500 plants were two years old and the rest were one year old. Rains repeatedly interrupted the planting schedule, but nearly all of the plants were in the ground by the middle of June.