Foresters working for one corporation in Alabama have seen the benefits of planting morphologically improved seedlings with large roots. As a result, the company-owned nursery grows seedlings at densities of 15 per square foot. In some fields, the average RCD is 7 mm or greater. To help ensure good survival, half of their seedlings are planted using machines. The main reason this company produces larger seedlings is to increase early growth.
Seedlings planted with a machine typically have higher survival than hand-planted seedlings.
On some sites, planting 7-mm seedlings can reduce the rotation length by one year. In fact, in some cases Grade 2 seedlings may not achieve a 7-mm diameter after one year's growth. These results suggest that, since large seedlings do not increase the cost for machine planting, farmers should consider machine planting old fields using large planting stock. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. By Machine Seedling type Avg.