Comportamiento del Ciprés (Cupressus lusitánica Mill.) En la producción de árboles de navidad bajo condiciones de clima alto andino, Venezuela

the agroecological conditions of the state of mérida, venezuela, have potential for the establishment of christmas tree plantations for commercial purposes. the silvicultural behavior of mexican cypress (cupressus lusitánica mill.) in a high andean environment was studied, for the purpose of promoting the cultivation of christmas trees among the interested communities. the assay was established in the santa rosa experimental station, at the farming research institute (instituto de investigaciones agropecuarias) iiap) of the universidad de los andes. the trees were monitored and evaluated throughout 20 months, measuring basal diameter, total height, applying leader pruning and side shearing. the values obtained for survival and mortality were 82.69 % and 17.31 %, respectively. an average height of 2.56 m and basal diameter of 7.79 cm were obtained, with positive responses to leader pruning and side shearing. the annual height increase was 1.51 m and 3.80 cm in diameter. it was concluded that cupressus lusitanica demonstrated adaptation to the environmental conditions of the state of mérida, according to the parameters evaluated.