Research article Controlling pollinated radiata pine seed - a comparison of seedling and cutting options for large-scale deployment
R.J. Arnold
Controlled pollination, CP, of radiata pine seed orchard clones is required to realise their full potential genetic gain. Vegetative multiplication of CP seedlots has been the usual practice till the present. However, this was found only to be economic for seed costs exceeding $1800 per kg or where seed quantities are limited. Recent developments in radiata pine seed orchard management will enable large-scale production of such seed at costs projected to be as low as $900 per kg. Isolated siting of future orchards could enable CP seed to be produced without a requirement for bag isolation of individual female cone whorls, decreasing costs even further. Given such costs, CA seed utilisation for seedling production can have significant advantages over its vegetative multiplication by cuttings from nursery seedling stools. (no keywords)
