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WASHTENAW COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT
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Crop Tree Management

Crop tree management is a very effective way to manage your trees. It basically concentrates all of your efforts to improve the growing conditions for the trees you want to harvest in the future. This is accomplished by providing more growing room for the crop trees by removing select neighboring trees. Studies show that growth rates of trees can as much as double, after a crop tree release.

The first step is to pick out your crop trees. Crop trees should be any trees that you want to see an increased growth response in. These trees may include trees with straight stems and few branches for timber production, wildlife mast producing trees (e.g. white oak for deer), or other species that are aesthetically pleasing (e.g. sugar maple for it's fall color).

Generally, crop trees should be selected when they are at least 4 inches in diameter; smaller trees can be ignored. Crop trees should also be selected that are young enough to benefit from the release. Trees at least 20 years younger than the mature tree age for a stand should be targeted. In most cases, there should be no more than 20 or 30 crop trees selected per acre and they should be spaced at a distance in feet of at least 1.5 x DBH [diameter of crop tree in inches at 4.5' from ground]. Example: two 20" dbh trees should be about 30' apart.

When you have chosen and marked your crop trees, then go back and thin out any of the trees that are interfering with (touching) the crown of your crop tree. After these trees are removed, there should not be any branches touching the crop tree's crown on any side. If, however, you have two really good looking trees close together, don't worry about keeping them both, as they will each still receive a release on three sides after the thinning. Just try and open up around them a little.

This process should be done with moderation in mind. If you get too much sun on the sides of the crop trees they will send out sprouts on the trunk of the tree in an attempt to shade itself. This will lower the quality of the timber and the value of the tree. If you are only removing the trees that are touching the crown, though, this should not be a concern.

It is OK to have only 5 crop trees per acre. Do not be concerned so much with the number of crop trees per acre as with the spacing. Part of managing your woodland is having some "filler" trees, as they will not all be "trophy" trees. The more crop trees per acre that you have the more brushy appearance the woods is going to have due to increased sunlight after their release. This is good for wildlife, however it may not be as aesthetically pleasing.

Economic Rotation
The economic rotation of hardwoods in this region is between 20 and 24 inches DBH (diameter at breast height). This means that for maximum financial return on your woodlot, generally you should be harvesting your crop trees while they are in this diameter range. This does not mean that you can't harvest trees smaller than this, but rather that your best trees that are really going to make a good profit should be cut at this size. It also does not mean that you shouldn't have trees bigger than 24 inches; it is merely a rule of thumb.

Note: Economic rotation takes into account wind damage, lightning strikes and decay fungus that can work against you growing them any longer.

Washtenaw County Conservation District
(734) 302-8715
info@washtenawcd.org

​ 705 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Copyright 2020
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Annual Reports
    • 2022 Strategic Plan
    • Board Meetings
    • Board of Directors >
      • 2023 Director Elections
    • Staff >
      • Career Opportunities
      • Internship Opportunity
    • Resource Assessment >
      • 2021 Results
      • 2016 Results
    • 2020 Millage
    • FOIA Requests
    • Annual Meeting >
      • 2022 WCCD Awardees
    • Conservation Update Newsletter
  • Store
  • Resources
    • School & Community Habitat Grant
    • Rain barrels & Composters >
      • Rain Barrels Information
      • Rain Barrel Common Questions
    • Tool and Equipment Rental >
      • Reserve Tools & Equipment
      • Hand Tool Rentals
      • Herbicide Application Tool Rentals
      • Tool Rental Calendar
      • Equipment Rental Calendar
    • Contractor Lists
    • Hunter Access Program
  • Events
    • Native Plant Expo & Marketplace >
      • 2023 Spring Native Plant Sale >
        • 2023 Spring Milkweed Giveaway
      • 2023 NPEM Speaker Series
      • 2023 NPEM Sponsorship
      • 2023 NPEM Vendor Application
    • Tree & Shrub Distributions >
      • 2023 Spring Tree & Shrub Sale
    • Coffee & Conservation
    • Public Meetings Calendar
  • Conservation Planning
    • NRCS Farm Bill Programs
    • MAEAP
    • MiFarmLink Inquiry
    • Farmer Cost-Share Opportunities
    • MI Farmland Preservation
    • Invasive Species
  • Education
    • Workshops & Programs >
      • Community Conservation Education
      • Conservation Agriculture Education
      • Conservation Stewards Program
    • Online resources >
      • Agriculture >
        • Farmland Preservation
        • Soils >
          • Washtenaw County Soils
          • Soil Sampling >
            • Soil Sampling Article
            • Homeowner Soil Testing
            • Agricultural Soil Testing
        • Windbreaks
        • Composting >
          • Composters
      • Forestry >
        • Community Trees
        • Tree & Shrub Planting Guide
        • Common Tree Diseases & Pests
        • Crop Tree Management
        • Fruit Tree Planting & Care
        • Likelihood of Deer Damage
        • Other Forestry Links
        • Pruning Forest Trees
        • Timber Sales
        • Urban Trees
      • Insects >
        • Animal & Insect Repellents
      • Invasive Species & Control
      • Native Plants >
        • Planting Native Plants
        • Seeding Wildflowers
      • Recycling
      • Water >
        • Groundwater >
          • Groundwater Protection - Agriculture
        • Pond Construction >
          • Pond Management
        • Rain Gardens
        • Shoreline Property
        • Stormwater Runoff & Management
        • Stream Bank Erosion and Control
        • Wells >
          • Water Testing
          • Water Screening Events
        • Wetlands >
          • Wetland Mitigation Banking
        • Wildlife >
          • Brush Piles
          • Clearcutting
          • Den Trees
      • Tree of Heaven
  • Get Involved
    • Spring Tree & Shrub Event Volunteering
  • Donate
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