LARGE SCALE MICROPROPAGATION AND FIELD TRANSFER SYSTEMS FOR HARDWOOD TREE SPECIES

THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES DEVELOPMENT OF IMPROVED MASS PROPAGATION AND FIELD TRANSFER TECHNIQUES FOR HARDWOOD FORESTRY SPECIES, USING EUCALYPTUS AS A MODEL GENUS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH BUILDS ON RECENT BREAKTHROUGHS IN FIELD TRANSFER TECHNOLOGY, MOST NOTABLY, IN THE AREAS OF LIGNIFICATION IN VITRO, DIRECT FIELD ROOTING OF PLANTLETS AND IN VITRO HARDENING TECHNIQUES. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ADDRESSES ISSUES IN MASS PROPAGATION ECONOMICS AND SCALE UP. IN ORDER TO BECOME COMPETITIVE, TISSUE CULTURED TREES MUST BE PRODUCED IN MUCH LARGER VOLUMES AT A VERY REDUCED COST. RECENT ADVANCES IN AUTOMATED LIQUID CULTURES (MICRO-HYDROPONICS) AND EXTENDED SUBCULTURE INTERVALS WILL BE INVESTIGATED IN VIEW OF THEIR LABOR-SAVING POTENTIAL. PHASES II AND III WILL MERGE MICROPROPAGATION SYSTEMS FOR FORESTRY SPECIES WITH AUTOMATION AND MECHANIZATION PROCESSES CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT. THIS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFORT WILL ENABLE COSTS TO BECOME MORE FAVORABLE FOR LARGE SCALE COMMERCIAL APPLICATION, WHILE IMPROVING THE QUALITY AND EARLY FIELD PERFORMANCE OF THE CLONED TRANSPLANTS.