Loblolly Pine Response to Bedding and Fertilization Varies by Drainage Class on Lower Atlantic Coastal Plain Sites
Abstract Growth response of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) to bedding and phosphorus fertilization was determined on three sites classified as moderately well, somewhat poorly, and poorly drained. Ten-year growth in terms of height and diameter showed a pronounced response to treatments on the poorly drained site but only a small response on the other sites on which competition was eliminated as a factor in all treatments. Bedding and fertilization interacted only on the poorly drained site where response to bedding was most pronounced. Our projection of height over age curves for individual treatments suggest that response to phosphorus alone may compare favorably with bedding plus phosphorus after the pines are about age 20 on the poorly drained site. Nutrient concentration in foliage alone was not indicative of the differential growth response to fertilizer obtained over drainage classes.