Cone and Seed Characteristics among Different Cone Abundance Classes in a Seed Orchard of Pinus koraiensis

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between cone abundance and cone/seed characteristics to improve seed quality and seed orchard management of Pinus koraiensis. The data was collected from P. koraiensis seed orchards at Chungju in 2007. That year was a rich year of cone harvest and the average number of cone per tree was 2.5 times much than that of normal year. We collected the cones from all trees in the sample plot of the seed orchard and investigated morphological characters such as cone length, cone width and cone weight. According to cone abundance per tree, the samples were divided into eight classes and analysed by cone analysis method. There is a decreasing tendency of number of fertile scale, seed potential, percent of filled seeds, seed weight per cone and seed efficiency, when the cone number per tree is increased. Additionally, the implications of the results to seed orchards management of P. koraiensis were discussed.