Juniper seed sources in the Great Plains

Abstract

At age 10, 100% of eastern redcedar (L.) and Rocky Mountain juniper (Sarg.) trees from several seed sources throughout the Great Plains had survived. Seed sources from southeastern Texas had the poorest survival. Eastern redcedar trees from Kansas seed sources grew tallest, and trees from Montana and southeastern Texas seed sources were the shortest. Rocky Mountain juniper trees survived better, were shorter, had smaller crowns, exhibited greater damage from Cercospora blight ((Ellis and Everh.) Sutton and Hodges, formerly var.) and Kabatina tip blight (Schneider and V. Am) and less damage from cedar-apple rust than did eastern redcedar trees. Eastern redcedar trees were larger, had more horizontal branching, and exhibited a greater incidence of cedar-apple rust and bagworm. In the northern Great Plains, trees from seed sources 1 to 4 " latitude south of each test site survived best and grew the tallest. In the central Great Plains, trees from seed sources from 1 to 4 " latitude north of each test site survived best, while those from 4 " latitude north and 6 " longitude east grew the tallest. Cluster analyses differentiated groups of seed sources that performed in a similar manner in terms of survival, height, and crown characteristics. Although most clusters were composed of seed sources from the same species and geographic area, one cluster contained seed sources of both species and ranked near the median for most traits. Agelage correlations indicated that seed sources may be successfully selected for good survival and fast growth rate at age 5.

Rocky Mountain Juniper Seed Source Test in Western Kansas, U.S.

“…In an earlier study in the Great Plains region (Cunningham and King 2000), Rocky Mountain juniper trees survived better, were shorter, and had smaller crowns than did eastern redcedar (J. virginiana L.) at 10 years of age. Rocky Mountain juniper has better crown compactness for wind reduction than redcedar.…”