Farm Forestry New ZealandNorthland poplar trials
Report Date: Ongoing, from 2021.
Author: Dean Satchell
Senior Forest Service Advisor
Forest Service Advice
Te Uru Rākau - New Zealand Forest Service
Ministry for Primary Industries - Manatū Ahu Matua
forestserviceadvice@mpi.govt.nz
Mobile: 022 0107961
Phone: +64 9 2207864
Cultivars - Wai-iti
Bred in 1982, this poplar clone was selected by Stan Braaksma from the Wai-iti poplar trial in the Wairarapa, and has shown good drought tolerance and nice autumn colours. The P. trichocarpa male parent of this hybrid clone is from California. Although this clone suckers, "it's not too bad" according to Stan. He describes the root extension as "awesome, 20m or more from the tree".
P. deltoides x P. trichocarpa
NZ 82-171-007 (NZ 5039)
Mother: P. deltoides NZ 73-054-092 (Illinois)
Father: P. trichocarpa NZ 74-150-012 (California)
Sex: Female
Trials with this cultivar:
In 2018 Trevor Jones assessed the Wai-iti poplar trial planted in 1988 (30 years old) and was impressed with the growth and form of this cultivar, it was the best of the P. deltoides x P. trichocarpa at the trial. Trevor supplied this cultivar to Northland Regional Council in 2021, because P. trichocarpa (balsam) parentage should induce some possum resistance.
Trevor subsequently visited Stan Braaksma's at Wairarapa and took photos (below) of his 3 trees in 2023, and was again impressed with these. Age is unknown, but estimated to be 20 years.
Wood density
Trevor Jones (Plant and Food Research) re-measured the 1988 Wai-iti poplar trial in the Wairarapa in October 2024, and took a core from a ‘Wai-iti’ poplar tree for wood density. The table below shows the wood density of the ‘Wai-iti’ poplar tree was similar to ‘Kawa’ trees in the trial, that were cored in 2021 for an MPI funded project with Scion. The inner and mid core density was very similar, with the density of ‘Kawa’ being higher in the outer 50 mm of the breast height (1.4 m height) core.
|
Registration No. |
Clone name |
Poplar species |
Core segment lengths (mm) |
Basic density (kg/m3) |
|||||
|
|
|
|
Inner |
Mid |
Outer |
Inner |
Mid |
Outer |
Whole core |
|
NZ 5039 |
Wai-iti |
P. deltoides × trichocarpa |
121 |
122 |
50 |
382 |
405 |
416 |
397 |
|
NZ 5006 |
Kawa |
P. deltoides × yunnanensis |
90 |
90 |
50 |
372 |
412 |
463 |
406 |
Wai-iti clone at Stan Braaksma's, Wairarapa, April 2019. Photo Trevor Jones
Wai-iti clone at Stan Braaksma's, Wairarapa, 2023. Photo Trevor Jones
NZFFA on facebook