Effect of liner container size on root growth and anchorage rating at harvest from field nursery.
| Liner container size (L)z | Diameter five largest roots inside 11 L (mm)y | Diameter five largest roots outside 11 L (mm)y | No. of straight rootsx >5 mm diameter at edge of root ball |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 35 au | 19 a | 3.6 a |
| 38 | 33 ab | 18 a | 3.2 ab |
| 57 | 29 b | 14 b | 2.1 b |
| Liner container size (L)z | Total no. of roots edge of root ballw | Depth 10 largest roots (cm)w | Anchorage ratingv |
| 11 | 243 a | 12 b | 4.4 a |
| 38 | 200 ab | 14 b | 3.6 ab |
| 57 | 166 b | 17 a | 3.1 b |
↵z Trees planted into field nursery in February 2007 from 11 L, October 2007 from 38 L, or January 2008 from 57 L container. Field production concluded end of 2009 when roots and anchorage were measured.
↵y Measured 5 cm inside or outside former position of the 11 L liner container.
↵x Roots that turned less than 45 degrees left or right between trunk and edge of the tree-spade-dug root ball.
↵w Measured at the edge of the 0.9 m wide tree-spade-dug root ball.
↵v Anchorage rating the day after digging field nursery trees (with a tree spade) originally planted from the three liner container sizes December 2009; 1 = loose, 5 = firm; trunk was rocked back and forth at its natural frequency.
↵u Means in a column with a different letter are statistically different at P < 0.05; n = 20, averaged across root pruning prior to field planting and field root pruning season due to insignificant (P > 0.06) interaction.