Christmas Tree Farms

The Christmas Tree industry is an important sector of the horticulture/agriculture market.  In the US, the annual revenue of Christmas Tree sales is approaching half a billion dollars, and as a crop, it is very unique with specific cultivation needs and practices.  The Mycorrhizal Applications biorational portfolio of products contains valuable tools to improve soil health and tree resiliency, as well as specialized tools to control central leader height and maximize tree quality.

ConShape™ PGR for Terminal Leader Control:

ConShape™ is a new PGR product to control leader growth of Christmas trees as a substitution for mechanical pruning. With ConShape, central leaders cease growth a few days after application and retain the full number of buds on the leader which will result in a denser and more attractive branching in the following year. ConShape contains a naturally occurring plant growth regulator S-abscisic acid (S-ABA) as the active ingredient.

The primary application use for ConShape™ is for the purpose of controlling the growth of the terminal leader in Christmas tree production, eliminating the need for manual pruning.

Available through our distribution network: Distributor Map

Precision application to the leader is achieved through the use of an Easy Roller application tool.  Easy Rollers for ConShape application are available from ConShape distributors.

Currently registered in the following states: Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia

Mycorrhizal Fungi for Christmas Tree Cultivation:

Our company was founded in the Forestry Industry in the mid-1990s. We were known as Forest Mycorrhizal Applications (a little history lesson here) supplying slurries of ectomycorrhizae throughout the US and Canada. We found through research and field applications that if a forestry nursery manager inoculated their seedlings with mycorrhizal fungi, they saw fewer culls and greater survival upon transplanting.  Christmas Tree farmers can directly benefit from decades of USFS research, and Mycorrhizal Applications product development, to inoculate trees with the ectomycorrhizal fungi that will help them thrive from sapling to ready-for-market tree.

Mycorrhizae form a symbiotic relationship with the seedling and form numerous, long filaments that mine the soil for nutrients and water.  In turn, nutrient availability is improved and drought stress is reduced. Inoculated seedlings have a stronger root system due to the extensive filaments which reduces tree loss and creates a more uniform tree stand.

Natural occurring mycorrhizae can be eliminated in the field by erosion and mechanical or natural disturbance. Nursery practices that include fumigation, use of soil-less growing media, and high levels of water and soluble nutrients produce plants that are devoid of these essential symbiotic mycorrhizal partners. When high levels of fertilizer and water are provided, these plants may grow well in artificial media and a well-managed nursery setting, however, those same seedlings will not easily adapt to field conditions without the mycorrhizal fungi that help sustain them in the natural environment, under stress, etc. At a fraction of a cent per seedling, mycorrhizal inoculation is easy and affordable insurance.

ProCone® PGR for Cone Production:

ProCone is the latest addition to our PGR lineup, ProCone contains gibberellins GA4 + 7 and is used in conifer tree nurseries, conifer seed orchards, and in Christmas tree Seed/Cone production.

ProCone is a plant growth regulator formulation containing gibberellins GA4 + 7 that is utilized to promote pollen and seed cone (strobilus) production for tree improvement programs and operational seed orchards. ProCone can be used on mature trees, seedlings, and grafted or rooted propagules of most conifer species of the family Pinaceae.

Available through our distribution network: Distributor Map

Currently registered in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.