In order to study and popularize clones from the introduced Robinia pseudoacacia, morphological charac- teristics and leaf nutrition of samples of a three-year-old stand were observed and analyzed during its growing season. Combined with data on rooting ability, height and basal diameter, comparisons were made on morphological characteristics, growth traits and leaf nutrition of 11 introduced R. pseudoacacia clones (two from Hungary and nine from South Korea) and two domestic clones. The results show that there are significant differences in growth and morphological characteristics among the 13 clones, but no significant differences in the contents of crude protein and crude fibers in the leaves (p > 0.05). Height and basal diameter growth of clones B and G were recorded as the fastest, while clone H1 was the slowest. Clone H2 had the largest leaflets, three times as large as other clones, while K4 had the heaviest dry weight per 100 leaflets because of its thick leaves. The 13 clones can be divided into four classes based on the number of leaflets per compound leaf, i.e., 1-3, 13-17, 15-23 and 21-25. There were significant differences in thorn size: H2 , with the largest leaflets had the smallest thorns. While of course all clones produced roots, there were significant differences; clones 2N, K5 and B had many adventitious roots, while clones K3 , K4 and H1 had few. Correlation between content of crude protein and (length × width of leaf) was positive (p < 0.05), while correlations of the content of crude protein, with the number of leaflets per compound leaf, petiole length of compound leaf and thorn length were negative (p < 0.01). Plant height and basal diameter were positively correlated with each other (p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with base width of thorns (p < 0.05) .
Guo-Jun ZHANGJiang-Jie SHENLi-Mei ZHAOYu-Han SUNYun LIZhao-He XUPeng SUN
