QUALITY OF PLANTS PRODUCED IN FOREST NURSERIES IN JALISCO

Abstract

While there has been an increasing effort to establish forest plantations in Mexico, satisfactory results have not been achieved due to the low survival within the stands. One of the main causes is the quality of the plant used. The following study describes the plant quality assessment performed on 8 different forest nurseries in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, which produced plant species of tropical and temperate climates as part of the reforestation programs and commercial plantations done by CONAFOR on 2008. Plant quality was defined as high, medium or low according to quality parameters of height, root-neck diameter, shoot root ratio and the content of N, P, K, C and lignin. Results show that, in its majority, the quality of the plant produced, for both hardwood and softwood species, is average according to the suggested standards. Variables with the best quality were the phosphorous and lignin per cent contents, while those with the lowest quality were dry biomass in the aerial and radical parts. It is recommended that further investigations focus on the techniques required to improve the quality of the shoot: root ratio. It is also suggested to continue with the plant quality appraisal in this and other forest nurseries, giving the proper follow-up plantations already established, in order to validate the information provided by the plant quality assessment.