Georgia farmers are learning a better way to manage pines. And
the tactical switch is
enabling them to grow trees at least 25 percent faster, said a
University of Georgia
forester.

“Where it once may have taken us more than 20 years to grow a
certain amount of
wood, we’re now producing that in 12 or 15 years on many of our
sites,” Dave
Moorhead said.

“So we’re really producing the same amount of fiber in a much
shorter time,” said
Moorhead, a forest regeneration scientist with the UGA Extension
Service. “We have
the ability to really intensify some production without putting
more acres into
production.”

Closer management is the key.

Farmers have begun to manage trees more like they do their
annual row crops. They
control weeds with herbicides and provide their tall crops the
nutrients they need.

Weeds and underbrush steal vital water and nutrients from young
trees. Controlling
them, especially in the first few years after planting, gets
trees off to a good start.

“The seedlings have good survival,” Moorhead said, “and get
some early diameter
growth.”

Fertilizing helps, too. Without needed nitrogen and phosphorus,
the seedlings won’t
grow to their full potential. Applying fertilizer a number of
times through the 12- to
15-year rotation can help trees grow their best.

The extra fertilizer costs more. But Moorhead said it’s worth
it. “You still get a good
return,” he said, “because you’re growing a lot of fiber in a
short time.”

Georgia-grown trees are used for many products. Some trees turn
into building
materials, others into poles and posts. But pulpwood uses, by
far, take the largest part
— almost 45 percent.

Georgia leads the world in pulpwood production, Moorhead
said. “The focus has really
shifted to the South as the wood basket of not only the United
States,” he said, “but
also the world.”

That pulpwood is made into paper and paper products we use every
day: writing paper,
cardboard boxes, packing and wrapping materials and even napkins
and bathroom
tissue.

The paper industry expects a 7 percent increase in worldwide
demand for paper and
paper products through the year 2000. Moorhead said Georgia
farmers can help meet
the demand for wood fibers with this intense management.

Experts place the value of timber and timber products second
only to broiler chickens
among Georgia farm crops. Forestry is worth more than even
peanuts, cotton and
vegetables.

Georgia’s 13 mills produce more pulp and paper than any other
state. Almost 70,000
people work in these mills. The Georgia wood and paper
processing industry adds $3.5
billion to the state’s economy annually.

Managing pulpwood pine forests carefully, Moorhead said, can
help maintain the tree
supply that makes all of that possible.