Effect of liner container size and root ball slicing prior to field nursery planting on trunk diameter and diameter of largest roots at harvest from field nursery.
| Liner container size (L) | Root pruning liner container root balls prior to field nursery plantingz | Trunk diameter increase 2008 (mm) | Diameter 10 largest roots (mm)y |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Yes | 23 ax | 21 ax |
| No | 23 a | 18 b | |
| 38 | Yes | 23 a | 15 c |
| No | 21 ab | 13 cd | |
| 57 | Yes | 20 b | 11 d |
| No | 21 ab | 11d |
↵z The 11 L liner container root ball sides sliced in six places top to bottom when planted into field February 2007; 38 and 57 L sliced similarly when 11 L shifted to 38 L or 57 L and when planted into field, October 2007 and January 2008, respectively. Field production concluded end of 2009 when roots were measured.
↵y Measured at the edge of the 0.9 m wide tree-spade-dug root ball.
↵x Means in a column with a different letter are statistically different at P < 0.05; n = 20 (trunk diameter) or 10 (diameter 10 largest roots), averaged across field root pruning season due to insignificant (P = 0.6) interaction.