This project studied the value of various shoot and root-system characteristics as indicators of plantability of transplants. Correlation and regression analysis was used to compare these characteristics. The study material consisted of two-year Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) transplants that had grown in a plastic greenhouse for the first year and then been transplanted in the open. The seedlings had been transplanted in the field without treatment or with the roots cut to a length of 8 cm. A part was transplanted without treatment into plastic pails. A gravimetric and photometric method was used to obtain a description of the surface area of the root systems.
The results show that the photometric value gives a good picture of the surface area of the root system. The greatest advantage offered by the method is the simplicity and rapidity of measurement. The gravimetric, and especially the titrimetric, measurement takes much more time per plant. Photometric measurement affects plantability little, and measured and planted transplants can be followed up in the field. In gravimetric measurements, it was found that fresh and dry weight of the plants were closely correlated.
Mycorrhizal frequency in the root systems gave a good picture of the surface area of the root system. The number of living roots-tips was also rather closely correlated with the surface area of the root system. The other morphological characteristics failed to serve as a satisfactory index for the surface area of root systems. The one closest correlated was the annual leader growth. The second best was stem diameter; the height of the plant, on the contrary, was rather poorly correlated with the other characteristics.
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