Three hundred pruned logs from two compartments in Kaingaroa Forest in the central North Island were sawn in Rotorua in a preliminary study to examine the effects of different sawing strategies on conversion and grade recovery in an actual sawmill trial. The results showed that grade sawing has the potential to substantially increase the proportion of high-value timber grades over fixed saw pattern breakdown methods. Log positioning (no taper, split taper, and full taper) had little influence on grade recovery but split taper showed a clear advantage in conversion.

Four layouts were tested in a stand reorganisation trial established in Pinus radiata D. Don at Hautu Forest in 1973 - groups of four trees at 800 stems/ha, and groups of five trees, short lines of five trees, and the more conventional rectangular spacing at 1000 stems/ha. The final-crop 200 stems/ha were pruned to 6 m in three lifts. A production thinning was carried out at age 10 years in 1983 with a yield of 100 m³/ha and an estimated cost of NZ$12.50/m³. The sale price on skid was $16.00/m³.

The growth of the pruned final-crop stems was only marginally affected by the presence of the production thinning element and little mechanical damage was caused by thinning. The economics of production thinning were improved, although the load accumulation gains were not as clear as expected. Times for prebunching in the groups of four and five and in conventional rows were all less than the lines of five. In the groups of four an initial stocking of 800 stems/ha was sufficient to give an acceptable final-crop stocking of 200 stems/ha.

A second stand reorganisation trial established in 1975 investigated a paired row concept, i.e., pairs of final-crop rows alternating with pairs of rows for production thinning. Identification of the final-crop rows allowed them to receive seed orchard stock, cultivation, and fertiliser treatment to compensate for the green crown removal at pruning time. These advantages were sustained until the production thinning at age 10 years. Satisfactory levels of production were achieved using current machines and systems. However, more sophisticated harvesting systems would have benefited from the concentration of thinnings from adequate and well-defined corridors.

Copper fungicide (as 50% cuprous oxide W.P. formulation) applied to Pinus radiata D. Don needles is solubilised by complexation and oxidation processes to potentially give >30mg cupric ion (Cu²⁺)/L in aqueous solution. Bioassays using Dothistroma pini Hulbary conidia showed that exposure to 20 mg Cu²⁺/L in the presence of P. radiata needle aqueous exudates (which stimulate germination, and support fungal growth) for periods as short as 1.5 h was sufficient to kill the spores. Lower concentrations (10 mg/L) of Cu²⁺, while not greatly reducing conidial germination rate, substantially reduced germ tube length and effected the hyphal anatomy, while 5 mg Cu²⁺/L prevented production of conidia by mycelium grown in vitro. Low dose rates (0.1-5 mg/L) affected D. pini mycelium metabolism, causing a five-fold increase in secondary metabolite (mainly dothistromin) synthesis, but did not reduce conidia germination. Cu²⁺ concentrations in water films on the P. radiata needle surface need to be above 10 mg/L to prevent infection from taking place, or above 5mg/L to prevent re-infections from secondary conidia.

A row-by-row comparison of "bulk collected" Pinus radiata D. Don cuttings and seedlings was planted out in 1970 on a cleared indigenous cutover site in Mamaku Forest. The cuttings came from 7-year-old parents. The area had been marked for a final thinning to a stocking of 200 stems/ha in 1985. Sectional measurements were taken on 38 thinned trees (19 seedlings and 19 cuttings) in January 1986. The mean diameter at breast height (dbh) and total stem volume under bark were lower in cuttings. However, there were significant differences in tree form and taper, which resulted in 8% more total stem volume under bark in cuttings for trees of the same dbh and height. Bark thickness was less in cuttings.

Quarterly sampling of the Tikitere trial in 1986-87 gave estimates of average earthworm populations of 378, 283, 150, 0, and 1 earthworms/m² in plots containing 0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 Pinus radiata D. Don/ha 13 years after planting. These are lower than published values for the same plots of 547, 435, 304, 389, and 287 earthworms/m² estimated 2 years after planting. Both soil pH and pasture productivity have fallen in the intervening period. Populations of Enchytraeidae averaged 10 000-64 000/m², being most abundant at 50 P. radiata/ha. The declining earthworm populations and soil pH indicate significant changes in soil biological activity which may influence post-harvest management.

Root growth capacity, shoot height, and diameter growth of Cupressus macrocarpa Hartweg seedlings were reduced by 48 hours or more of cool-storage, regardless of type of packaging. However, seedlings packaged horizontally in either a wax-impregnated kraft cardboard box with polythene liner (DL-55 planting box) or a 4-ply gusseted kraft paper bag with polythene liner (Capcote bag) produced greater height growth in the year after planting than those seedlings packaged vertically in the conventional manner.

Correlations between root growth capacity and final height and diameter were significant. However, there was not the same strong relationship with growth increment.

Two site preparation techniques - ripping and ripping plus bedding - were compared with an uncultivated control treatment on compacted, podsolised soils from weathered andesitic tephras at Karioi Forest. Two Pinus radiata D. Eton seedling stock types (1/0 and 1.5/0) were used.

Ripping/bedding caused a significant improvement in height and diameter growth between ages 2 and 7 years, but the improvement was not large enough to justify the cost of cultivation on the grounds of improved growth alone. Root form and vertical extension were better in the cultivated plots than in the control, but no significant differences in stability between cultivation treatments were recorded. The 1.5/0 stock was larger at planting time than 1/0 stock, was more difficult to plant properly, and exhibited much poorer root form than 1/0 stock. It toppled almost twice as often as the 1/0 stock, despite slightly deeper planting and a larger mean root: shoot ratio. Growth was not significantly different between stock types by age 7.

Root extension was related to penetration resistance, and was severely restricted when the resistance exceeded 3 MPa.

The results of three trials undertaken in consecutive years in the Forest Research Institute Nursery, Rotorua, gave strong support to the hypothesis that Thrips tabaci Lindeman is the cause of needle crinkling and multileadering in Pinus radiata D. Don seedlings in forest nurseries. Fortnightly applications of an insecticide led to a reduction in the number of thrips present on the seedlings, and a reduction in the number of seedlings becoming multileadered. The lowest incidence of malformation occurred in beds of seedlings which had been sprayed at fortnightly intervals with 10 g deltamethrin in water using a spray volume of 100 L/ha.

Internode length of Pinus radiata D. Don in New Zealand is under strong additive genetic control, and it is an important index of the amount of clearwood yielded by unpruned trees. Variation between genotype in internode length is much greater on fertile, high-latitude sites, but rankings of genotypes are quite stable over all sites. Both multinodal (short-internode) and long-internode breeds have been developed to supply timber products for differing end-uses. Much greater yields of clearwood can be obtained from a long-internode breed, but this will be at some cost in gains for growth and form traits when compared to the most advanced multinodal tree type. It is important to match the choice of breed with the planting site, and with subsequent management of the forest crop; this will be greatly assisted when the effects of the tree breeding programme can be accounted for in existing forest planning models.

Vigorous and healthy growth (16-m heights) was shown by 8-year-old Eucalyptus nitens (Deane & Maiden) Maiden families in New Zealand trials Central Victorian families were 10-15% greater in diameter growth and 35-50% better in tree form scores than seedlots from eastern Victoria (Errinundra) and southern New South Wales. There were no large or consistent differences among the three provenances of central Victoria - Macalister, Toorongo, or Rubicon. The large variation between populations within the Toorongo provenance, showing the Mt Erica population top ranked for diameter growth and the Upper Thomson River population bottom ranked, supports the theory of introgression from the Errinundra variety. Multiple trait index selection across sites was used to choose the best 20 central Victorian half-sib families. Selection of these families should give gains of 7.5% for diameter, which equates to a 19% volume gain, over unselected central Victorian families. Predicted gains in form score are 8% for these selected families. Genetic variability in resistance to wind damage was demonstrated and this characteristic was also used in the selection of half-sib families. Half-sib family selection can be utilised for seed production gains and there are methods of advancing the population in open-pollinated families.

The annual reported kill of fallow deer (Dama dama L.) in the Blue Mountains, Otago, declined from 2038 in the 1962-63 year to 394 in 1984-85. Surveys of faecal pellet density in 1975, 1980, 1983, and 1985 indicated that deer density decreased through the late 1970s and into the 1980s. The decline up to 1980 was mainly the result of commercial hunting. Although commercial hunting ceased after 1980 the efforts of recreational hunters continued the decline in deer density. By 1985, most deer inhabited areas > 1.5 km away from access points. In the 1984-85 year 1284 hunters spent 3710 man days hunting, but most had little impact on the deer population. Only 199 hunters (15.5%) killed deer, and just 45 (3.5%) accounted for over half of the reported kills. This core group hunted more frequently than average, but were also the most skilled at finding and killing deer. Most hunters (84%) came from within 90 km of the Recreational Hunting Area. The ability of recreational hunters to control deer populations appears to depend on the size of the hunter population within 100 km and on the extent of road access.

Boron and zinc concentrations increased with wood age in four Pinus radiata D. Don trees. Manganese increased with wood age in three trees and decreased in one tree. Copper concentrations were unrelated to age. Zinc concentrations varied significantly among trees.

Nutrient concentrations in both stemwood and stembark were plotted against stem diameter and tree age and regressions were calculated which may be combined with stem taper equations and wood density to predict nutrient removal in stemwood under a range of harvesting scenarios for the central volcanic plateau of New Zealand.

Three out of eight legumes tested grew well from seed sown in a 10-year-old, recently thinned and cultivated, 250 stems/ha stand of Pinus radiata D. Don. Productivity was lower than would be expected in the open, but Lotus uliginosus Schkuhr. "Grasslands Maku", lotus hybrid G4712 (cornicufatus x liginosus), and Lupinus arboreus Sims all produced a sward or an understorey layer which persisted for at least 4 years. Four legumes failed completely when resown 2 years later (1983) without cultivation in the same stand. Maku lotus and Trifolium repens L. (white clover), when resown again (1984) without cultivation, established and persisted for two seasons but plant vigour was very low and there was no sward formation. Poor productivity was not primarily associated with presence of accumulated litter, herbicide treatment before sowing, or animal browsing.

The ability to forecast increases in crop productivity reliably over a whole rotation is frequently restricted by a lack of experimental data measured consistently over a long enough period of time. Four long-term trials in Australasian plantation Pinus radiata D. Don, in which responses to fertiliser have been measured for between 10 and 18 years, are analysed here to examine whether responses increase, decrease, or are maintained with the passage of time. Three of the four experiments showed a diverging and compounding response to fertiliser throughout the periods of measurement. Such a finding appears to be in complete accord with widely held principles of crop growth and yield. Nevertheless, the same result was not achieved in the fourth trial; after a highly significant response of 4.5 m2/ha in stand basal area 4 years after fertiliser application, the response eroded to 2.0 m²/ha after a further 6 years of growth. Other examples are cited where fertiliser responses were either compounded or partially lost with time. Sites with marginal or marginally-induced nitrogen deficiency seem likely to exhibit sustained responses but grossly deficient sites may not necessarily behave similarly. Examination of the residual errors in the trials, and their effects over time, suggests that experimental variation is a function of site, as well as a response to basic growth and size factors.

The effect of forest floor materials on phosphorus sorption by high and low phosphorus-fixing soils was investigated. Organic matter and soil were either incubated for 1 month and equilibrated in 2N potassium chloride or simply mixed and equilibrated. Orthophosphate levels then were measured. Admixing organic matter decreased the phosphorus sorption on both high and low phosphorus-fixing soil, presumably by the action of organic anions also in the leachate. When soil and organic material are mixed during cultivation, changes in phosphorus sorption characteristics of soils should be considered in evaluating cycling and mineralisation.

An improved rearing method for Thanasimus formicarius L. (Col: Cleridae) involved transferring larvae hatched from eggs laid in vitro into bark-beetle infested billets. This technique is particularly useful in quarantine conditions. In addition, the successful long-term cool storage of reared adults greatly improved the efficiency of the rearing programme.

The potential role in Australia of Platypus subgranosus Schedl (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Platypodinae) as a vector of the fungus Chalara australis Walker & Kile, which causes a vascular disease of Nothofagus cunninghamii (Hook.) Oerst. was studied by determining the way in which the beetle carries its mycoflora, by making direct isolations from living beetles, and by induction of beetle attack on disease-free trees and billets of N. cunninghamii. The origin of subsequent C. australis infections in these trees or billets was investigated. The relationship between the fungus and the life cycle of the beetle in naturally attacked host trees was also examined. Chalara australis was isolated from 0.6% of 2966 P. subgranosus adults and 1.2% of tunnel walls in billets were infected. Isolations from beetle frass indicated that infection of trees occurred prior to beetle attack. Because saprophytic survival of the fungus in the wood of the dead host trees is limited, there is little opportunity for the fungus to contaminate emerging brood. While a small number of beetles may possibly carry and transmit C. australis, the fungus is not dependent on the beetle for dissemination or ingression.

Three cultivation treatments (ripping only, discing and ripping, and ripping and bedding) were tested on a frost-prone site in Otago. Incidence of frost damage and tree survival and growth were compared for Pinus radiata D. Don, P. muricata D. Don, and P. contorta Loudon. Frost damage to P. radiata and P. muricata was severe on uncultivated plots but was significantly reduced on the intensely cultivated plots; rip/bed sites gave the best results. Survival of these species followed similar trends. Pinus contorta was relatively unaffected. Pinus radiata IV2/0 stock did not grow well on the uncultivated plots, and growth responded markedly to ripping. More intensive cultivation did not yield additional growth. Growth of P. muricata and P. contorta did not improve significantly with soil cultivation.

Second-year Pinus radiata D. Don cones harvested as early as April ripened successfully in dry storage and produced seeds of high germinability and vigour. This is 3 months earlier than previously recorded. The limiting factor was not the development of the seeds themselves, but the point at which cones became amenable to efficient extraction by conventional kilning techniques. In most trials this took between 6 and 9 weeks. Prolonged artificial ripening beyond 12 weeks caused some loss of seed vigour, but no index of cone maturation during storage formed a sound basis for assessment of viability and/or extractability of the seeds. Artificial ripening triggered a change from developmental to germinative mode and there was a concurrent loss of seed moisture but this was not the only change involved in this process. Seeds from artificially ripened cones showed a limited response to stratification treatment, suggesting a small degree of residual dormancy.

Early collection of Pinus radiata D. Don cones may be of considerable benefit for seed production in New Zealand, especially in seed orchards where controlled pollination is used. In this study on the development of seed germinability, cones matured more slowly than the seeds inside them. Thus seeds ripening on the tree were fully germinable and of high vigour by the end of July, much earlier than previously thought, although at this stage they were difficult to extract from the cones without several weeks of air-drying. Cone colour and moisture content were thus ruled out as indices of seed development, but specific gravity may prove a useful guide.

Holding stocks of 1/0 Pinus radiata D. Don overnight in the nursery packing shed caused a significant decrease in seedling water potential from -0.23 to -0.58 MPa. Although watering restored water potentials, growth after planting out was lower than in seedlings planted straight after lifting.

Pinus radiata D. Don heartwood and sapwood flakes were acetylated with acetic anhydride in the absence of solvent or catalyst by a simple dip procedure. No difference in reagent penetration or reactivity was seen between heartwood and sapwood flakes. Acetylation weight gains of 13-19% were achieved with both types of flakes.

Flakeboards made from acetylated heartwood or sapwood flakes swelled in liquid water tests at a slower rate and to a lesser extent than control boards made from untreated flakes. The equilibrium moisture content for flakeboards made from acetylated flakes was lower at each relative humidity tested and these boards swelled less in humid air than control boards made from untreated flakes.

Program SEESAW is a computer simulation program for the sawing of pruned logs. It was developed to aid in the evaluation of pruned log types and to provide a tool for analysing their interactions with various sawing patterns and sawmill practices.

This version of the program accommodates important sawmill variables such as saw kerfs and number and positioning of knees on the carriage and, through the use of interactive computer graphics, simulates all sawmill activities, i.e., sawing, edging, docking and grading, and resawing.

Compound 1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate) in a gel carrier was applied to the leaves of broadleaf (Griselinia littoralis Raoul) baits (cuttings) to poison deer. In two trials on Stewart Island, assays for F^- showed that the poison disappeared during rain, 97% being lost in 207 mm of rain and 81 mm of rain in the respective trials. In one trials significant losses of Compound 1080 also resulted from biodegradation in storage.

Baits set to kill deer were sampled after 0, 15, 30 and 45 days of weathering. Only 10% of the treated leaves retained toxic gel after 45 days. About 1.4% of the Compound 1080 was lost from the leaves per millimetre of rainfall. This rate was similar to loss rates for Compound 1080 from other baits commonly used in animal control operations.

A national survey to determine the distribution and extent of the disease commonly known as cypress canker was carried out in 1981 and 1982 in plantations of Cupressus macrocarpa Hartweg, Cupressus lusitanica Miller, and Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (A. Muuray) Palotte, and in shelterbelts of X Cupressocyparis leylandii (Jackson and Dallimore) Dallimore cv. 'Leighton Green'. One of the two fungi responsible for the disease, Seiridium unicorne, was found throughout the country except on the West Coast of the South Island. The other, Seiridium cardinale, was found near Auckland, Wanganui, Palmerston North, and Christchurch. The incidence of the disease was low. Damage to trees by other fungi, insects, and animals was also low.

Fifteen forests totalling 70 000 ha of Pinus radiata D. Don were surveyed for Cyclaneusma needle-cast in 1983, 1984, and 1985. Disease severity was highest in 11- to 20-year-old stands and lowest in the 1- to 5-year-old and over 25-year-old stands. Disease severity generally increased from 1983 to 1984 and again to 1985 but there was significant variation between regions. No difference in disease incidence between years could be demonstrated. Losses in wood volume, due to the disease, of 5% per annum in the forests sampled were predicted for stands aged between 6 and 20 years old.

Soils beneath planted Pinus radiata D. Don were compared with soils beneath adjacent native Eucalyptus forest at two sites with contrasting nutrient status in New South Wales. At the lower fertility site, soil under P. radiata was lower in nitrogen, exchangeable magnesium, and pH, and higher in organic matter and exchangeable aluminium than soil under native forest. An apparent deficit in total nitrogen in the pine ecosystem could be accounted for by the quantity in thinnings. At the higher fertility site, the soil under pine had lower concentrations of nitrogen and organic matter than that under native forest, but was not significantly different in other respects. As reported in similar studies, organic matter content appeared to be the main soil property influenced by plantation establishment; this effect was more pronounced at the poorer site where rooting depth was limited to 30-40 cm by a sharp change in texture.

The nutrient content of the above-ground components of a stand of Pinus radiata D. Don were estimated between ages 5 and 13 years. Initial spacing was approximately 6900 stems/ha. Total nutrient contents exceeded those of conventional, less densely stocked plantations of comparable age. At age 13 the trees in the stand contained nutrient contents within 10% of a 29-year-old plantation grown for sawn timber production.

The average rate of accumulation of nutrients into the trees had peaked by age 7 years for most nutrients. The rate of nutrient accumulation depended on the nutrient concerned and the changing pattern of dry matter increment. The rate of accumulation fell most quickly for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, for which nutrient concentrations decreased with needle age. The rate was maintained at more stable levels for calcium and manganese which increased in concentration in aging needles.

Dry matter and nutrient content of above-ground tree components were estimated at ages 7, 10.5 and 17 years in stands of Pinus radiata D. Don established on a nitrogen-deficient sand dune. Experimental treatments included lupin (Lupinus arboreus Sims) exclusion and biennial fertiliser application in a replicated split-plot factorial design with stocking reductions as subplots.

Lupin and fertiliser treatments significantly increased growth, with the most productive stands accumulating twice as much dry matter and nutrients as the least productive. The distribution of dry matter and nitrogen between crown and stem changed with stand age and stocking but not with fertiliser addition. Lupin stimulated crown development more than the stem during early growth of the trees but this effect disappeared after the suppression of lupin by the pines. By age 7 years, the accumulated application of 570 kg fertiliser N/ha was less effective than lupin as a source of nitrogen. Relative to the controls, nitrogen accumulation in the above-ground tree components represented only 12% of added fertiliser in both thinned and unthinned stands. It appears that nitrogen not immediately available to the young trees was quickly leached from the sand. Application of a further 392 kg fertiliser N/ha between ages 7 and 10 gave an increase in above-ground tree dry matter and nitrogen content. More significantly, on this naturally nitrogen-deficient site, growth of stands with fertiliser surpassed those with lupin. Lupin was suppressed by pines at stand age 5 and fertiliser application ceased at age 10. Efficiency of nitrogen accumulation in above-ground tree compponents after fertiliser application was still only 12%, averaged across the thinning treatments. However, much of the nitrogen incorporated in the trees was evident as needle litter during this stage. The continued high growth rate at age 17 indicates that nitrogen mineralisation made this nitrogen available again. The tightness of the bio-geo-chemical cycle after canopy closure is likely to ensure that the benefits achieved by earlier nitrogen additions are maintained.

Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) norms were obtained for Pinus radiata D. Don in New Zealand using foliage chemical analysis results and site index data from published studies. The norms were then tested on fertiliser trials in which response to varied nutrition was known. DRIS proved accurate at ranking treatments in order of growth and nutritional health.

Foliage samples were collected regularly over a period of 13 months from three treatments of a nitrogen fertiliser trial established in a 3-year-old Eucalyptus fastigata Deane et Maiden stand on a yellow-brown pumice soil in Kaingaroa Forest Treatments sampled were (1) control (no fertiliser); (2) 250 kg urea/ha, and (3) 500 kg urea/ha; (1) and (2) were sampled each month, and (3) every third month. The first collection was made just before treatments were imposed in early Novemeber (spring). Samples were analysed for nitrogen, phosporus, potassium, calcium, magnessium, boron, copper, iron, manganese, and zinc. Both urea treatments gave a positive response in foliar nitrogen concentration. For Treatment (2) this response was shortlived (c. 10 months) and reached a peak about 2 months after treatment (2.34% N compared with 1.15% N for (control). Although data for (3) are incomplete, it seems that the response in foliar nitrogen was greater than for (2), but still did not last beyond a year.

Nitrogenous fertiliser significantly increased the N : P ratio in foliage for the 11 months following treatment. A large growth response to applied N, observed in the season following treatment, indicates that the change in N-P balance was beneficial.

Nutrient concentrations in the foliage of untreated trees varies markedly with season. Fluctuations were relatively small for zinc, iron, nitrogen, and copper; intermediate for magnesium, boron and potassium; and large for calcium, phosphorus, and manganese.

In a 6-year-old Pinus radiata D. Don stand growing in the sandy soil region of Chile, eight 400-m² plots were established for the evaluation of chemical, silvicultural, and silvicultural-chemical control of Dothistroma septospora (Dorog.) Morelet needle-cast. All the trees within the four silvicultural and silvicultural-chemical plots were thinned to 450-500 stems/ha and pruned to 50% of the green crown in Novemeber 1983, and slash was removed. All trees exhibited stem malformation during the spring of 1984. The damage length and orientation, the flattening of the stem in the sunscald zone, and the summer solar course for the latitude, led to the conclusion that damage was due to insolation.

Excised Pinus radiata D. Don fascicles were stored in cold, humidified glass vials for some hours prior to measurement of needle water potential using a pressure chamber. Tests of the technique with various types of fascicles suggested that the change in water potential during storage for up to 12 h was within acceptable limits (<0.06 MPa) for fully expanded C+1 fascicles grown in the field, but not for current expanding fascicles nor for fascicles growing under mist irrigation in a shade house.