Poplar Demonstration - watch out for it!

Posted on February 12, 2020

The purpose: to show the features of different hybrid poplar clones being bred in New Zealand for soil stabilisation, shelter, shade, riverbank protection, timber, and carbon credits.

The location: signposted on State Highway 1 between Utiku and Taihape. The site is ~ 100 m from the road in clear view. Look out for it on your travels.

Plates 1-4. Views of the sign and planted poplars. Rows run up the hill.

Establishment: Poles (3 m) were planted using an augur, and protected with Dynex sleeves. Cattle were excluded with a solar-powered electric 2 wire fence. The poplar trees were planted in winter 2017 in rows extending up the slope, one clone per row, with spacing between rows of 10 m and within rows of 7 m.

The hybrid poplar clones:

Table 1. The 16 clones (cultivars) listed below in the demonstration. Rows are numbered south to north.

Row (S to N)Clone NameNumber
1NZ5026P. deltoides x ciliata ‘Rotorangi’7
207-06-007P. trichocarpa x nigra Blanc de Garonne10
307-04-005P. trichocarpa x nigra Vert de Garonne10
4NZ5006P. deltoides × yunnanensis ‘Kawa’10
5PN870P. ×euramericana ‘Veronese’10
6NZ5020P. ×euramericana ‘Otahuao’10
7NZ5032P. nigra x maximowiczii ‘Shinsei’10
8NZ5036P. maximowiczii x nigra ‘Pecam’10
9NZ5035P. maximowiczii x nigra ‘Mapiu’10
10NZ5007P xeuramericana x yunnanensis ‘Toa’10
11NZ5017P. ×euramericana ‘Fraser’10
12NZ5018P. ×euramericana ‘Weraiti’10
13NZ5025P. deltoides x ciliata ‘Kaimai’10
1407-05-103P. maximowiczii × trichocarpa10
1507-02-086P. maximowiczii × trichocarpa10
16NZ5010P. xeuramericana x nigra ‘Crowsnest’10

Management:

2019 Dead trees were replaced
2020 Trees are pruned to a single leader

Data:

Figure 1. Mean height of the 16 poplar clones in year 1 (2018) and year 2 (2019)

Figure 2. Mean tree diameter in cm in year 2 measured at the top of the protective sleeve

See the photos at age 2 years.


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