231Tree Seedling Planting

231.01 Description. Tree seedling consists of furnishing, delivering and planting tree

seedlings of the species, type and size indica ted, in accordance with these specifications and in reasonably close conformity with the locations shown on the plans or directed.

231.02 Materials.

231.02.1 Quality and Grading Standards . The seedlings shall be nursery grown and

equal to the best quality produced by and graded according to the standards of the Mississippi State Forestry Co mmission, United States Forest Service, or American Association of Nurserymen (AAN).

231.02.2 Nursery Inspection and Plant Quarantine . All shipments of seedlings shall

comply with all nursery inspection and plant qu arantine regulations of the State of origin and destination, as well as with federal regulations governing the interstate movement of nursery stock. A valid copy of the certificate of inspection shall accompany each package, box, bale, or car load lot delivered.

231.02.3 Plant Names . All scientific and common plant names shall conform to the

"Standardized Plant Names" of the American Committee on Horticulture sponsored by the AAN, current at the time of bid. All plant materials used shall be true to names and legibly tagged with name and size of material. There shall be no substitute for the kinds or sizes specified except by prior approval in writing by the Engineer.

231.02.4 Inspection. All seedlings are subject to in spection at any time during the life

of the contract by an authorized representati ve of the Department. However, inspections before or during planting operations shall not be construed as final acceptance of the seedlings.

231.02.5 Fertilizer. Fertilizer(s) shall meet the applicable requirements of Section 213

or Section 232, as specified.

231.03 Construction Requirements.

231.03.1 Equipment. The furnished tools and equipment for digging plant holes, slits

or trenches shall be adequate to perform th e excavation to the proper size and depth such that twisted, balled, or "U" roots will not re sult. All equipment and tools shall meet the approval of the Engineer.

231.03.2 Seasonal Limitations. Seedlings shall be planted during the period specified

on the plans. When soil and weather conditions are adverse to proper planting, the planting operations shall be suspended.

231.03.3 Care and Handling. All seedlings shall be planted within fourteen days after

pick-up from the nursery. The seedlings sha ll be stored in a cool, damp, shady place and the roots kept moist at all times until planted. Seedlings allowed to dry out in route to planting site, in storage for daily planting or during handling by individual planters will be unacceptable for planting.

231.03.4 Spacing. The spacing of seedlings shall be as specified on the plans, or as

directed by the Engineer.

231.03.5 Area Preparation. All existing vegetation within the area shall be mowed to a

height of approximately four inches prior to planting the seedlings.

231.03.6 Planting. The ground shall be cleared of vegetation approximately one square

foot at the point of planting when planting seedlings using a dibble bar or mattock. One seedling per trash-free hole shall be planted in the center of the cleared area at the depth grown in the nursery; however, a tolerance of two inches low will be permitted for pine seedlings. All slits, holes, or trenches shall be closed and the soil packed firmly around the planted seedlings. Mechanical seedling planters may be used to plant seedlings in relatively flat areas suited to power equipment when approved. The planter shall clean a strip of an approved width and in an approved manner. One seedling shall be planted in the trash-free slit or trench at the depth grown in the nursery; howeve r, a tolerance of two inches low will be permitted for pine seedlings. All plant slits or trenches shall be closed and the soil packed firmly around the planted seedling. When the plant holes cannot be dug large en ough for the seedling's root system using dibble bar, mattock or mechanical planter, other approved methods shall be used. In any case, roots of seedlings shall not be pruned or broken.

231.03.7 Restoration of Seedlings . At the earliest possible time during the planting

seasons and at no additional cost to the Department, the Contractor shall replace all dead, damaged, or missing seedlings.

231.03.8 Application of Fertilizer. Fertilizer shall be the types and shall be applied at

the rate and in the manner specified.

231.03.9 Inspection of Seedlings. Inspection of planted seedlings will be made by the

Engineer before the end of the first full growing season. On or about October 1, determinations will be made by the Engineer of the survival of each species of seedling. The Engineer will divide the portion of the project on which each species of seedling is planted into lots as deemed necessary to represent segments of the work in which survival characteristics are similar. At the discretion of the Engineer, the percentage of survival of seedlings will be determined by sampling from each of the lots selected or the percentage of survival in any lot may be determined from the ratio of the actual count of seedlings within the lot at the time of the inspection to the total number of seedlings required to plant the lot in accordance with the spacing requirements of the contract. In the determination of the percentage of survival sampling from areas planted, the Engineer will select at random, from within each lot selected, one or more increments, each of which shall be not less than one-tenth acre or ten pe rcent of the area of the lot, whichever is smaller. The area of each increment selected within the lot will be measured and, if more than one increment is selected, their areas will be combined. The number of surviving seedlings within the selected incr ement(s) of the lot will be counted. The percentage of the survival of the lot will be established by dividing the combined count of surviving seedlings thus obtained by the total number of seedlings required for the combined areas of the increments when planted in accordance with the spacing requirements of the contract. The survival percentage of each species for the project will be established by multiplying the survival percentage for each lot by the area of each such lot and dividing the sum of these products by the total area planted. As determined during this inspection, the Engineer will either require replacement of dead, defective, or missing seedlings or not require replacement of such seedlings at certain locations.

231.03.10 Replacement or Non-Replacement of Seedlings.

231.03.10 1--Replacement. The Contractor may be direct ed by the Engineer to replace

certain dead, defective, or missing seedlings. Replacements shall be made at the earliest practicable time during the planting season following the first growing season. All replacement plantings shall be in accordance with the requirements a pplicable to initial planting.

231.03.10 2--Non-Replacement. Certain seedlings found to be dead, defective, or

missing may not be ordered replaced if non -replacement would not adversely affect the planting design.

231.04 Method of Measurement. Seedlings of the type specified, in place, undamaged,

and healthy at the time of final inspection, will be measured per thousand seedlings. At the discretion of the Engineer, the total number of acceptable seedlings in place at the time of final inspection will be determined by sampling from areas planted or by actual count of acceptable su rviving seedlings. The Engineer will divide the portion of the project on which each species of seedlings is planted into lots as deemed necessary to represent areas of the work on which survival characteristic s are similar. Within each such lot, in the case of determination by sampling, the Engineer will select at random one or more increments, each of which shall be not less than one-tenth acre or ten percent of area of the lot, whichever is smaller. The area of the lot will be determined and the area of each increment selected within the lot will be measured and, if more than one increment is selected within the lot, the area s of such increments will be combined. The number of acceptable surviving seedlings within the increment or increments, as the case may be, will be counted. The number of acceptable surviving s eedlings within the increment or increments thus determined shall be multiplied by the ratio between the area of the lot and the area of the increment or increments, as the case may be, to give the total number of surviving seedlings in the lot. In lieu of such determination by the specified sampling method, the Engineer may elect to determine the total number of acceptable surviving seedlings in place in any lot at the time of final inspection by actual count. The number of acceptable seedlings of each species in place on the project at the time of final inspection shall be the summation of the number of acceptable surviving seedlings of each species determined for each lot. Fertilizer(s) ordered and acceptably used will be measured and paid for under Section 213 or Section 232. Measurement for payment will be made in the following sequence: When all seedlings have been planted in accordance with the contract, 65 percent of the unit price will be allowed. When the inspection of seedlings at the end of the first growing season (October 1) as set out in Subsection 231.03.9 dete rmines that the survival rate exceed 65 percent for one or more of the individual species, sizes and types, the same percentage of the unit price will be allowed as the survival rate, but not to exceed 75 percent.