Study on Characteristics of Flowering and Fruiting and Seed Crop Prediction of Masson Pine

The distribution of male cones, female cones, developing cones and mature cones, and hereupon, the ratio of male cones to female cones and the fruit bearing percentage in crown were studied in Zhicheng County of Hubei Province. The number of small female cones on the top of new shoot in early spring was counted. Analysis was made on the relationship between cone crop of a tree and the number of cones in annual sections of the crown and the number of cones in visible crown. It was shown that the number of cones in certain section and the number of visible cones in crown were very informative to the cone crop of a tree. Several ways. including the number of visible cones in crown, the most informative section and the number of immature cones in a tree, were tested to predict cone crop for Masson pine in the county. Joint estimation for regression coefficients of 1991-1993's models were tested. Three stable regression models for cone crop prediction on the basis of female cones, immature cones and mature cones, respectively, were established.