Alkalinity Tolerance of Selected Provenances of Taxodium Rich

Forty seedlings from each of 14 open-pollinated families of Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich. from the southeastern United States, central Texas, and south Texas/Mexico were evaluated in the summer of 2005 for foliar chlorosis in a field situation with alkaline soil. The families from Mexico and south Texas had the lowest levels of chlorosis followed by those from central Texas and then those from the gulf coast. Height growth and trunk diameter were inversely related to chlorosis levels. Open-pollinated families from the gulf coast also had a significantly lower foliar manganese content on an alkaline field site compared with the western families. When selecting plant material for an alkaline site, genotypes from Mexico and south Texas should be preferred followed by central Texas genotypes.