Differentiation of last formed tracheids in wood of silver firs (Abies alba) having various cambial productivity

To examine the state of differentiation of the last tracheids formed in wood and the duration of cambial activity, samples of wood and cambium were taken from mature silver fir (Abies alba) trees having various cambial productivity.Semi-thin cross-sections of wood sampled in July and October, 1999, were stained with toluidine blue and observed under a light microscope. In July, three different phases of current annual xylem growth ring formation were found, as a result of various cambial tree productivity. In October, the cell divisions in the cambium were completed in all investigated trees, while the process of differentiation was not entirely completed in trees with a more productive cambium. The number of undifferentiated tracheids was higher in trees having a more productive cambium. In these trees, the cambial activity and the differentiation ended later. In declining trees, the number of cells produced by the cambium was lower and the duration of cambial activity was shorter