• Mann, Laurie Jayne
  University of Maine Graduate School
  

In 1979, a range wide provenance study of Norway spruce (Picea babies (L.) Karst.) was established in three locations in central Maine. The provenances represented in these plantations come from throughout the natural range of Norway spruce in northern and central Europe. In the Howland and Binham plantations, there are 46 provinces represented and in the Telos planation there are 32. The experimental design is a randomized complete block with four tree row plots replicated five times in each location.

Significant differences were found in the tree heights of the provenances in all three locations. There was no correlation of provenance height between the three planting locations. Survival ranged from 60 to 70 percent in each of the three test locations and there was no significant correlation for survival between plantations. There was a significant difference in the amount of white pine weevil damage amount provenances within a plantation only at Telos. there was no correlation of amount of weevil damage in the provenance amount the three planting locations. The local black spruce provenances in Telos were similar in growth rate to the Norway spruce provenances growing in that location. Bud break occurred first in the provenances from the northern portion of the Norway spruce range.