Does It Pay to Conduct Midrotation Competition Control and/or Fertilization? Results from Two Thinned Loblolly Pine Studies in the Coastal Plain of Georgia

Abstract

The effects of midrotation competition control and fertilization were studied in two loblolly pine stands in the Coastal Plain of Georgia. The use of fertilizer or herbicide alone did not enhance wood yields above the control, which negates the cost spent to conduct these practices. The combined treatment of fertilization and herbicide promoted higher average pine annual increment and greater proportion of sawtimber. Site limiting factors, most likely both competing woody vegetation and low nutrient status, largely determined the effectiveness and priority of midrotation treatments. The economic returns of the combined treatment varied considerably depending on stumpage prices, treatment costs, and magnitude and duration of the growth response. Sawtimber prices (absolute value and relative to pulpwood and chip-n-saw) play a critical role in the marginal returns of midrotation treatments. Continued depressed sawtimber prices will discourage private landowners from investing in midrotation vegetation control and fertilization.

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