Cellulose microfibril angles and cell-wall polymers in different wood types of Pinus radiata

Four corewood types were examined from sapling trees of two clones of Pinus radiata grown in a glasshouse. Trees were grown either straight to produce normal corewood, tilted at 45° from the vertical to produce opposite corewood and compression corewood, or rocked to produce flexure corewood. Mean cellulose microfibril angle of tracheid walls was estimated by X-ray diffraction and longitudinal swelling measured between an oven dry and moisture saturated state. Lignin and acetyl contents of the woods were measured and the monosaccharide compositions of the cell-wall polysaccharides determined. Finely milled wood was analysed using solution-state 2D NMR spectroscopy of gels from finely milled wood in DMSO-d ₆/pyridine-d ₅. Although there was no significant difference in cellulose microfibril angle among the corewood types, compression corewood had the highest longitudinal swelling. A lignin content >32 % and a galactosyl residue content >6 % clearly divided severe compression corewood from the other corewood types. Relationships could be drawn between lignin content and longitudinal swelling, and between galactosyl residue content and longitudinal swelling. The 2D NMR spectra showed that the presence of H-units in lignin was exclusive to compression corewood, which also had a higher (1 → 4)-β-d-galactan content, defining a unique composition for that corewood type.