Selected wood properties of young Populus hybrids

The effects of planting density in intensively cultured Populus hybrids on selected physical, chemical, and anatomical properties are reported. Populus hybrids NE-49, -252, and -388 were grown for 4 years in central Pennsylvania at planting densities of 0.09 to 0.46 m/sup 2/ per tree. SGs, chemical constituents, and fiber length of the three hybrids were unaffected by the amount of growing space per tree. Within clones, fiber length increased each year for all three clones, and hybrid NE-388 had significantly greater fiber length among clones for each of the 2, 3, and 4 years. Kraft pulping of hybrid NE-388 results in a weighted fiber length of 1.05 mm and 0.86 mm for chips without and with bark, respectively. Results of this study indicate that planting densities of Populus hybrids do not affect the properties reported. 4 tables.