Differences in the Severity of Needle Yellowing and Dieback among the Picea glehnii Families in the Provenance Test Site

Abstract

In an 11-year-old provenance test site, many trees of Picea glehnii showed phenomena of unknown cause, like needle yellowing and dieback. To elucidate differences in damage among the families, we investigated the degree of damage and heights of the planted trees. We found that individuals with severe damage tended to be lower in height. The degree of damage varied among the families and a relationship between average height and degree of damage was not found in several families. The relationship between provenances and damage is not clear, because the degree of damage differs greatly among the families within each provenance. Although it is necessary to confirm the cause of the damage, some families are probably more susceptible to damage than others.