MICROPROPAGATION OF FOREST TREES - RESEAR CH AND PERSPECTIVES IN FORESTRY

1987 a joint project was started with the object of elaborating new bi otechnological methods for breeding and raising forest trees. The proj ect is subsidized by the Bundesministerium fur Forschung und Technolog ie. Seven research institutions are project partners. Meanwhile most o f the research work has been finished. The experiments have been carri ed out with plant material of common and sessile oak, European beech, silver iir, Norway spruce, Douglas fir and European larch at different age. Main emphasis was laid on rejuvenation and propagation by means of shoot tip culture (organogenesis), regeneration of somatic embryos, haploid and protoplast techniques, and also long term conservation of shoot cultures. Remarkable findings resulted from organogenesis resea rch with both oak species and larch as well as with juvenile spruce an d Douglas fir. Among others, 35 oak genotypes could be propagated and several hundreds of plantlets could be transplanted ex vitro. There ar e still considerable difficulties with beech and iir. Somatic embryos of fir could be generated for the first time and multiplied in a biore actor. However, the result in differentiated seedlings is still poor f or the time being. Differentiated plants of beech and sessile oak coul d be regenerated by means of haploid embryogenic cultures and transpla nted ex vitro. Progress was made also concerning the development of pr otoplast techniques. Protoplasts derived from embryogenic cultures of most tree species conserved their capability of embryo and plant regen eration. Long term conservation with shoot cultures of different speci es under reduced growth conditions was possible by means of subcultiva ting. There was no loss of regenerating ability in the course of the s ix years project period. The findings and perspectives of the project work are discussed with regard to their benefit for forest tree breedi ng and also with a view to their applicability for silviculture and fo rest management.