Characterization of cork growth and quality in one region of production.

Cork growth and quality were characterised in 5 cork oak stands within the production area of the Sado basin (Alcacer do Sal, Portugal) based on a field sampling on 40 trees/stand. Cork thickness was on average 33.8 mm, with 75% of the samples in the commercial classes above 27 mm suitable for production of stoppers. Porosity measured by image analysis was 4.6% on average. Between toe and between stand variability of cork quality was large. The annual average cork growth for a production cycle with 8 complete growth years was 4.1 mm, being highest during the years following cork extraction and decreasing during the cycle. For this region, a production cycle of 9 years is adequate for raw-material industrial requirements. The results show the importance of between tree variability in growth and especially in quality.