Does the morphological quality of Pinus taeda seedlings affect their long-term field growth?

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of morphological characteristics of Pinus taeda seedlings on their field performance after eight years of planting. For this purpose, 20 treatments were evaluated by the combination of the seedling characteristics: height, collar diameter, container type, stem position in the container, residence time in the forest nursery, presence or absence of stem bifurcation and broken stem. After seedling classification, the planting was carried out in the field by spacing of 2.5 m x 2.5 m, in a randomized block design, with six replications and 16 plants per plot. Eight years after seedling planting, the trees and the stand were evaluated for survival, individual volume, volume per hectare and mean annual increment. In general, seedlings with a height of 25-35 cm, collar diameter of 2-4 mm, non-bifurcated and with intact stem are the most suitable for planting. The seedlings shorter than 25 cm, collar diameter lower than 2 mm, bifurcated or with broken stem, residence time longer than 10 months in the nursery should not be planted. © 2020 University of Sao Paolo. All rights reserved.