ADAPTATION AND AGRONCIIIC S'IUDIES WITH PHORKIUM, PHORKIUM TENAX FORSTER, IN WESTERN OREGOB Cecil Richard Stanton A THESIS submitted to r CllEGC.tl STATE COLLEGE in partial tull'Ulaent of the requirement& tor the degree ot MASTER OF SC:mlCE Jme 1960 • Itil!r Redacted for Privacy Redacted for Privacy Redacted for Privacy Redacted for Privacy il}r tldt,fi hdEHrftdr AGKllOWLEOOEMENTS The 'Writer wishes to express sincere apprec:iation to Dr. w. H. Foo~ for his guidance and encouragement during the atudy and in the preparation of the thesis. Gratitude is extended to Ik's. J. R. Cowan and F. H. Smith for their advice and suggestions in the preparation of thistmsis.. A spacial acknowledgement is due Hr. D • .w. Fishler and Mr. E. G. Nelson of the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture for the initial planning and establishment of the experiments in the study. In addition I am indebted to Mr. J. A. Meyers aDd Mr. Y. P. Puri for their help in the .field and laborat017 work. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements Introduction•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• , 1 Review of Literature••••••••••••••••••••••••••••·•••••••••••• ·) Kethoda and Kateriala•••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ~••••••••••• 9 Locationa••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 9 Cottma.n Nu.raeriea. ••••• , • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •.• • 9 Wollam Nurseey... • •••• ".-. •• .••••••••••••••••••••••• ,. _. ••12 Adaptational Plantings•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••!) Geaney Hurser.r•••••••··-···•••·••••••••••••••••••••••••14 Tenmile Hurser.y ••••••••••••••••••••, •••••••••••••••••••l4 Clatskanie Nuraeey••••.••••••••• • •••••••••••••••••••••••15 Camp Adair Nurser.r•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••l5 Kedto~ Planting•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••l6 Experimental Vethoda ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••l6 Adaptation Stud7•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••16 Coffman Fertilizer St~··•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••l8 Wollam Cutting T.rial•••••••••••••••••••••• ~ ••••••••••••21 Fan-Planting Experimenta •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••25 Var1ety" Experi.JDenta •••••••• .••••••••••••••••••••••••••••2$ Experimental Reaulta •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••29 Adaptation Study•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 29 Coffman Fertilizer Trial••••••••••••••••.••• •••••••••••••••34 Wollam Cutting Trial••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••38 Fan-Planting Experimenta ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••)9 Variety' '1\-iala ••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••41. Di•cussion.....................................................43 Summar,y and Conclusions ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••$0 Bibliogra.phy'....................................................)) Appendix..................... ., 4 ••••••••••• ·• • .••••••••••••••••••, , ADAPTAl'ION AND AGRONWIC STUDIES WITH PHOHMIUI4, PHORi4lUM TENAX FORSTER, IN WESTERN OREGON mRODUCTION Phormium. tenax, commonly known as phormium, New Zealand nu, New Zealand hemp, or the Harakeke lily, is indigenous to the island$ of New Zealand, and the N<;>rfolk Islands. A perennial monocotyledon, phormium has been el8$Si.:f1ed by Hutchinson (91 p. 1$)) ae a D1EI&lber of the family Agavaeeae, but otbe~ taxonomists have placed it 1n the Liliaceae. Phormium is recoetn:ized in world commerce as a source of fiber for the cordage indust17. According to Dewq and Goodloe (6, p. 21) 1 the fiber i.s slightly inferior in strength to abaca and sisal, but it has been blended with these f'ibertf or substituted for th• for lilllited use·· The :Maoris, one of the aborigines. o·f New Zealand, made extensive use of phormium and practiced selection and eu1 tivation of the plant long befol'le tbe arr1val of foreigners to NEnlr Zealand. I 'Captain Cook, the P.hglish explorer, first described it and intro­ duced the plant and .its fiber to Europe. As a reeult of his and other explorations, a small exportation or phormium fiber !tom New Zealand was established during the nineteenth oentuJ7. Phormium muBt necessarily still be classed ae Qne of the mnor fiber erops of the world. However, it is the ·only known hard fiber plant that grows well 1n tempQ'l"ate climates, and therefore it aseumes strategic importance for those countries that now must 2 import their entire supply or hard fibers from tropical region~. The United States is one or these illporting countries, With about 390 million pounds imported in 1956. Although orn81l8ntal plantings of phor:ad.wn were aade along the West Coast many years ago, virtually no organized research work had been done to ascertain 1ts potential as a tal"'l crop. Consequently, the United States Depart­ ment or Agriculture began research on phormium in 1949 with pl.lllt­ inga along the Pacific Coast. The general. objecti"fes or the work were to study the range or adaptation, dete:naine the general cultural requirements, and select and establish high yielding "farieties with good fiber quality. The VOI"k baa been a cooper&• tive project between the United States Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Agricultural Experillent Station. Within the general objecti"fes of the overall research progra on pbondum, the objecti"fes or the research described here were1 (1) to detel'lline the efteota of the co1a0n tertUising elements on growth and related characteristics or the plant and its fiber, (2) to eatabliah the range of adaptation under Oregon en"firomaental conditiona, ( 3) to detendne the optiaDI height above the ground for cutting the leaves and the optimuJl frequency or cutting the leaves, (4) to detel'lline the optiaum size and number of rhizOM divisions or fans }/ for planting, and (5) to canpare proaiaing varietal selections. !/ A tan 1a the coJIIIIIOn term for a rhizome division which is teminated with a tan-shaped structure of shoot and lea"fu. 3 REVIEW OF tr.rERA'l'tJRE Some knowledge or the range of adaptation ot phol'llium has been acquired through obeenation ot ornamental plantings in several countriesj including the tJnited States. The aost promising area tor phormiu production in_the United States appeared to be the coastal region ot California and Ore~Jon, Rovner,. into1"'188tlon on the optimum and lild:ting factors of the env1ronment under field conditions is not weU known tor this region, and especially ' information concerning the northern limits ot prodUction is lacking. Atkinson (1, p. 284) stated that although phormiull in Nev Zealand vas found growing in se'feral environments, the moet lumriant plants were located in fertile, weU-drained, allu'V'iU nata.. Accord­ ing to Dewey (5, P• 48-50), the beat phom1Uil producing areas of New Zealand were very unll"orm in temperature,. seldam _ris1ng above 65 degrees l'ahrenheit or tall1ng much below freezing. Dewey obsened that pbormium grew mostly in reela:l.med swamps where the water did not stand on the surface,. but where the water table was not o-.e:r three teet below the surface. Some varieties, holfe-ter, grew well in the uplands. Devey also stated that phormiwn could not be grown in the Vnited States because of unfavorable temperature and moisture relationship•• Po~le (11, p. 6.3-69), in an ecological study, f .ound that the •tability of a atand ot phormiWil was very dependent on the st&tua ot the water table. Poole indicated that the arti:tic1al dra1ning ot nampa in New Zealand bas often resulted in an extension ot the phoraiUJl producing areas associated with theae swalllp8. Under · natural conditions there appeared to be a delicate balance among the phond1lll etam, the water table, and the in'tasion of the area by other epecies. Critchfield (4., p. 172-18h) reported that phondUII grew in Nev Zealard on a wide range of soils, and from eea level to 4000 teet elevation. Critchfield disclosed that phonnium vas found growing in areas where preoipitation varied froa a> to 150 inches ennuallr. Phormium has been introduced into other parts of the world fl"mml Hew Zealand. In Brazil (7, P• 7) phormium has been auccesaf'uU7 produced at three thcmsand teet elevation in the State of San Paul6. The aoil vas developed under toreat am vas considered to be fertile. The climate ot thie region was deacribed as temperate and damp in th.e winter, woh l1ke New Zealand. Phoraiull prodQotion in Argentina was reported by Quartino (12, p. 20) to be 1n the delta lands of the country, In Argentina phormium vas found to withatand several ween of nooding, but extended flooding or extreme drouth were quite detriaental. The best area tor production in Argentina, with low, rich alluvial soU flooded periodically, was silllUar to the best areas of Nev Ze$nd. Baarer (8, P• 361-362) indicated that phormium ncmr1shes in aw8JDpy regiona ot South Devon in England. Songster (14, P• 167) disclosed that phol'lliwn vas toond growing well in scae locations in Britain that were drier than the best areas in New Zealand. The plant also appeared to be scaevhat salt tolerant, since it was found along coastal lagoons and meadows 'Where the roots might have been subnerged intenrd.ttently by the incoming tides. From the Natal coast of South Africa, Berend (2, P• 1400) reported that phormium has been grown mder most environmental conditions found in that area) but it has done best whore there is 50 to 15 inches of precipitation, e~ distributed throughout the 79ar. As in moat other locatiollll of phormium production, growth of phormium in Natal was best on rich, alluvial, well-drained flats. Little experimental work has been reported on the requirements of phormi:um for mineral nutrients under