Farm Forestry New ZealandNorthland poplar trials
Report Date: Ongoing, from 2021.
Author: Dean Satchell
Senior Forest Service Advisor
Forest Service Advice
Te Uru Rākau - New Zealand Forest Service
Ministry for Primary Industries - Manatū Ahu Matua
forestserviceadvice@mpi.govt.nz
Mobile: 022 0107961
Phone: +64 9 2207864
Cultivars - Hew
Discovered at the late Hew McKellar's farm near Hunterville in 2023 by Trevor Jones, Plant & Food Research.
Allan Wilkinson suspects it is a selected clone from the 1990 cross (NZ 90-106) of a P. yunnanensis female seedling (NZ 76-200-N) from the 1976 seedlot imported from Beijing, China, and the male ‘Yunnan’ PN 035 clone (the male parent of ‘Kawa’ poplar).
Trevor Jones suspects that 88-110-005 is the ortet (i.e. the same clone), based on form, but this is yet to be confirmed.
P. yunnanensis
NZ 5043
Mother: n/a
Father: n/a
Sex: Female
Trials with this cultivar:
Trevor Jones sent cuttings to Dean Satchell from Y1 on 25/09/2023. Renamed "Hew" in March 2024 to recognise Hew McKellar and his farm ‘Glenfalloch’, where the clone was sourced in 2023.
This P. yunnanensis was selected by Trevor from a row of trees and cuttings were taken in 2023. The ‘Hew’ poplar is clone 1, the first pair of trees in the row. The tree is number one of thirteen in the row planting, so is numbered Y1 on the label. Trevor measured the twelve surviving trees for DBH and height. It looks like they may be paired plantings of clones, with a 10 m spacing between trees in the row. Trevor didn’t take increment cores on this visit, but plans to visit again and take cores. The location of the tree Y1 on Google Earth is: 39°53’52.47”S, 175°29’22.27”E, at elevation 159 m. There were some good vertical shoots on the lower branches, so he was able to cut these with a pole pruner for cuttings.
Trevor's report on P. yunnanensis to the Willow & Poplar Research Collective (WPRC) in March 2024 is available here ».
P. yunnanensis, trees 1, 2 and 3.
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