WOOD QUALITY OF Pinus patula Schltdl & Cham FOR THE PULP PRODUCTION

ABSTRACT The softwood pulp industry is based on the supply of Pinus taeda and P. elliottii woods, and competes for this raw material with other timber sectors. The study aimed to evaluate the wood quality of Pinus patula for pulp and paper production. Trees aged 14 years were obtained from a plantation located in Ponte Alta do Norte, State of Santa Catarina/Brazil. Discs were collected along the commercial height for determining the weighted basic density and its longitudinal variation in the trees, and the chemical composition. For the anatomical characterization, a disc was extracted from the base of each tree to determine the radial variation of tracheids morphological characteristics, and their quality indexes for the production of kraft pulp. The weighted basic density (365 kg.m-3) of the wood was low when compared with other species of the same genus. Regarding the tracheids morphology, a mean length of 2.37 mm; wall thickness of 5.49 µm; width of 40.32 µm and a lumen diameter of 29.09 µm were observed. The chemical composition of the species showed low contents of lignin (25.06%) and ashes (0.27%), compatible content of holocellulose (70.76%), and high content of extractives (6.24%) compared with conifers of traditional use. In general, P. patula species shows characteristics compatible with those traditionally used for the pulp and paper production, and it should be considered in more advanced studies with this species in this segment.