Plants of Eucalyptus grandis clone, established in a 3 x 3 m spacing, were submitted to pruning and thinning. Pruning treatments started at three ages: 16, 20 or 28 months. Three or four pruning interventions were applied at different tree heights to attain a 6 m log free of branches, when pruning started at the age of 16 or 20 months, and two or three pruning were applied for the treatments starting at the age of 28 months. At the age of 55 months, two thinning treatments were applied (control and removal of 35 % of the total planted seedlings). The plant growth after thinning was evaluated for the period between 55 to 93 months by analyzing diameter (DBH), total height (Ht), volume outside bark (V), periodic annual increment after thinning (PAI) and mean annual increment (MAI). At the age of 93 months, there were no significant differences (p>0.05) for the diameter at 1.3 m height (DBH), total height (Ht), volume outside bark (V), periodic annual increment after thinning (PAI) and mean annual increment (MAI) between artificial pruning treatments and for the pruning-thinning interaction. By pruning up to the height of 1.5 m in the first intervention, at the age of 16 months, there was a removal of 80 % of total leaves and branches. In this treatment, 65 % of the individuals presented diameter smaller than 15 cm in comparison to 35 % for the remaining treatments. The total height was significantly (p<0.05) higher in the non-thinned stand in comparison to the thinned one. The volume outside bark, PAI and MAI varied significantly (p<0.05) with thinning only when pruning started at the age of 20 months, being, respectively, 7.9, 23.0 and 7.3 % greater in the thinned stand, in comparison to the non-thinned one. It was observed that growth stagnated at the age of 80 months in the non-thinned stand. In the thinned stand, this stagnation may occurs around the age of 100-110 months, indicating that a second thinning should be applied by this age to obtain logs of larger diameter and, consequently, greater extension of clear wood.
Plant growth; thinning; artificial pruning
