Seed Zone Nutritional Sensitivity and Hormone-Independent Rooting in Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana Dougl.): A Two-Phase Evaluation of Nutrient Solutions and Rooting Environments

Clonal propagation of rust-resistant sugar pine (<i>Pinus lambertiana</i> Dougl.) is currently limited by extreme rooting recalcitrance and highly variable donor responses to nursery management. This study identified seed zone-specific nutritional sensitivities and evaluated rooting success; we hypothesized that northern seed sources would exhibit greater sensitivity to high nutrient loads and that stable microclimates would outperform high-intensity rooting systems. In Study 1, seedlings from five United States Department of Agriculture seed zones were grown for 27 weeks in five nutrient solutions (tap-water control, modified Hoagland, Foliage-Pro^®, Andrejow, and FloraNova^®) spanning 0.72-3.00 dS m^-1. The nutrient-rich Foliage-Pro^® and FloraNova^® solutions defined the upper end of the nutrient-intensity range and revealed strong seed zone contrasts: northern zones (526, 550) showed marked sensitivity, with survival declining from 70 to 100% in the control to 15-40% under the highest-EC formulations, whereas southern zones (992, 993) maintained high survival (≥75%) across all treatments and exhibited increased branching (up to 3.7 branches plant^-1) under higher-nutrient solutions. In Study 2, stem cuttings were rooted in three environments (non-mist, hydroponic, and aeroponic) and four hormone treatments (control, Clonex^®, Dip'n Grow^®, and IBA + Ethrel). Rooting occurred exclusively in the non-mist propagator; untreated controls achieved 65% success and outperformed all hormone treatments (0-10%). These results demonstrate that <i>P. lambertiana</i> propagation depends on seed zone-specific donor nutrition and stable, hormone-independent rooting environments.