Ideas for developments in Tree Breeding Dag Lindgren Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Canton Sept 6

Focuses for tree breeding in the coming decades  Shorter rotation time in forestry (head for a decade, not a century),  New breeds and races less associated to the natural  Improved methods for cloning (artificial “cloned seeds”, “seed factories”),  Family forestry (amplified by cloning),  Full sib family forestry based on controlled cross (e.g. for use of hybrids),  Indoor seed production on dwarf trees,

 Top working and more advanced forms of sexual triggering of mature genotypes for breeding. Early sexuality less important (testing takes much time)!  More optimal use of the breeding cycle (several steps in sequence),  Better administrative systems for breeders (why? instead of fancy visions and scientific papers?). Scientists should avoid overemphasising fancy air castles, but unrealistically expensive, complicated and not operative methods,

 Development of the theory of cheaper and more robust breeding systems (phenotypic selection, open pollination),  More streamlined breeding reducing administrative delays,  Improved interface with social and humanistic sciences concerning what’s tolerable in forestry and get systems for its implementation (it is not only a problem of natural sciences),  Convince decision makers that forestry is often different from agriculture,

 Predictions and optimisations based on a firmer theoretical ground,  More developed and deeper consequence analyses (including National and long term),  More simulations (to see what may happen),  Simulators more focused on user interface (so experience can be accumulated),

 Better understanding of how trees interact in stands versus in tests,  Breeding strategies encouraging co-operative instead of competitive stand genotypes,  Breeding strategies encouraging plastic genotypes,  Breeding strategies encouraging genotypes suitable for monoclonal forestry,

 Trees should make wood, not sex. Thus methods to allocate resources to vegetative growth,  Clonal testing as a method for testing the breeding population for sexual propagation should become more common.

 Development of simple and robust cost effective low input systems for long term breeding,  Shorter - but thicker - trees,  More focus on the efficiency of genotypes (efficient use of air, water, nutrition, space, sun) compared to the quality of the product (which can increasingly easy be manipulated at later stages),

 How to get trees to form more permanent (and not just temporary) carbon sinks at a cheap price. Maybe other environmental sinks also,  Breeding of mycchoriza and other microbes (thus breeding may be more cost effective if directed to supportive species instead of the trees themselves),

 Preconditioning (environment control of genetic switches rather than DNA control),  More efforts to THINK and predict some generations ahead Restourant ”Moose paradise” 1$1$  Breeding of a forest which can support much game for hunting (more lucrative to produce game than wood...),

Old ”New ideas”  Old ”New ideas” have historically got much attention, but little practical use (most examples are from Sweden). So I may be too conservative...

 Dag Lindgren:  Bäste Dag!  Ehles triploida asp finns både kvar på den ursprungliga fyndplatsen, samt uppförökad här på Ekebo och på några försöksplatse r. I Nordamerika har triploida arthybrider från den Ehle 4X, som han framställde från den triploida ursprungsindi viden, framställts och så även i Tyskland där klonen Astria lär ha Ehle 4X som fader. I Helges gamla försök var de triploida hybriderna inte överlägsna de diploida i ungdomen, så han miste intresset för dem. Dock var jag med och gjorde nykorsningar i mitten på 70-talet, men av dessa fältförsök återstår inte mycket idag. Man fann ju många andra triploida kloner senare. På Utsädesföreni ngen fanns ett träd med mer än 10 triploida kloner inympade, men det föll i en av stormarna på 80-talet.  Lars-Göran har kollat de bästa 300 hybridaspklon er som valdes under 90- talet. Flera av dem visar sig vara triploida och är nu under förnyad testning. Han skall bearbeta det materialet framöver. Hittills finns något lite publicerat i: Pulkkinen, Tigerstedt och Viirros; Aspen in papermaking; University of Helsinki, Department of Applied B, Publication 5.  Sen ett stort tack för diverse ammunition om patent m.m. som jag hade stor nytta av i genrättighets gruppen, utan att avslöja vem personerna var bakom. Tack också för proceedings om high quality birch.  Bästa hälsningar  Martin  Dag Lindgren:  Bäste Dag!  Ehles triploida asp finns både kvar på den ursprungliga fyndplatsen, samt uppförökad här på Ekebo och på några försöksplatse r. I Nordamerika har triploida arthybrider från den Ehle 4X, som han framställde från den triploida ursprungsindi viden, framställts och så även i Tyskland där klonen Astria lär ha Ehle 4X som fader. I Helges gamla försök var de triploida hybriderna inte överlägsna de diploida i ungdomen, så han miste intresset för dem. Dock var jag med och gjorde nykorsningar i mitten på 70-talet, men av dessa fältförsök återstår inte mycket idag. Man fann ju många andra triploida kloner senare. På Utsädesföreni ngen fanns ett träd med mer än 10 triploida kloner inympade, men det föll i en av stormarna på 80-talet.  Lars-Göran har kollat de bästa 300 hybridaspklon er som valdes under 90- talet. Flera av dem visar sig vara triploida och är nu under förnyad testning. Han skall bearbeta det materialet framöver. Hittills finns något lite publicerat i: Pulkkinen, Tigerstedt och Viirros; Aspen in papermaking; University of Helsinki, Department of Applied B, Publication 5.  Sen ett stort tack för diverse ammunition om patent m.m. som jag hade stor nytta av i genrättighets gruppen, utan att avslöja vem personerna var bakom. Tack också för proceedings om high quality birch.  Bästa hälsningar  Martin Old ”New ideas”  Polyploidy, (triploids) started forest genetics in Sweden 1936 and was a major focus in Sweden , but only use is some hybrids  Mutation (I started my carrier with mutation research). Induced mutations got no use in forestry and some, but little in agriculture

 Hybrids little practical impact, mainly because of problems to produce them pure (hybrid seed orchards frequently failed).  Clonal forestry has been regarded "promising" for half a century, but less than 1% of current forest plantations in Sweden are clones and no raise in sight in spite of considerable efforts. e.g. differences in phenology seedlings are cheaper …

 Flowering stimulation, early flowering (flowering stimulation is used in Swedish breeding, but to a limited extent and “top- working” may be enough) There are, however, some success stories from other places in the World (in particular hybrids, clonal forestry and greenhouse breeding).

Current new ”New ideas”  Marker assisted selection (MAS)  QTL (Quantitative Trait Loci)  Genetic engineering (GE, GMO)  Genomic diagnosis  Early testing  Micro propagation and somatic embryogenesis (improved methods for cloning)  Speeding up the breeding cycle

Experience shows 90% or more of expectations on new methods fail... General problems:  long rotation time in forestry,  need for long and complex field testing,  high cost and low accuracy of field tests,  high costs,  too constrained and limited application  data amounts are not manageable and not transparent

More problems….  scientists focuses on model organisms rather than improved trees. (More reproducible results and better papers)  need for administrative and organisational sustainability,  new procedures does not fit easily into existing systems and structures,  environmental worries. Forest is Nature!

Sweden 2002: few of all ideas and research efforts produce gain in today’s forests  In Sweden today, most improved plants are from unthinned seed orchards containing wild plus tree selections without thinning. In spite that we started  If we started 1938 in the way we are doing it today, the genetic gain of new plantings out into forest would have been 30% instead of current 8%!  Provenance research has added some percent to production.

 a second batch of seed orchards mainly from a new batch of plus tree selection were established, but the gain may just raise from 8 to 10% and some better survival in some places.  2005 we will start a new batch of seed orchards, mainly with progeny-tested trees. The gain in them will mostly be 20%. We predict?!  My point is that it does not seem to be very fast!