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Assessment
of Rhizogenic Capacity
Once sprouting has taken place, three to four months after
the tree's overturning, the coppice shoots are harvested and taken to
greenhouse, where they are accurately selected. Later, stakes are manufactured,
under strict control of the genetic material identification, and placed
in greenhouse to have their rooting capacity assessed.
In order to assess clones rooting capability in greenhouse,
50 cutting per clone are set up, on a 2-repetition basis (25 stakes x
2 repetitions). The cuttings are partially evaluated 45 days after they
have been set up. Final assessment is conducted after three months.
A clone is considered to be "rootable" when
featuring a greater than 50% rooting capacity. In such a case it is enabled
as a hedge, while becoming part of a clone base, the purpose of which
being the generation of plants for cloning tests.
Clones featuring a 30% to 50%rooting are tested again
on a second stage. This time cuttings are not harvested on stumps, but
out of hedges made with rooted cuttings of the previous stage. The purpose
of this second assessment stage is to discard possible generation of non-suitable
branches at the stump, or to verify problems that could have taken place
during material transport and could have affected the clone rooting.
Every year rooted clones are used to build hedges for
plants production, which are later used for cloning tests in the season
after. If such is the case, enough stakes have to be set up, thus generating
homogeneous plants for all sites where clone tests are to be set up.
PRODUCT
As a result of the setting up of the above mentioned program,
a technological set called "Cold-tolerant Eucalyptus globulus clones"
shall be developed. Such clones may be directly included by the various
companies under their plantations programs. At first stage, they may be
used as a brewing population which may add cold tolerance to its corresponding
improvement programs. Records of cold tolerance spreading and assessment
shall made up additional and complementary elements, which - if requested
by users - may be transferred under the parties commercial agreement.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
The use of material that has been developed in this proposal
will make it possible to increase the forest product process yield capacity,
thus enabling incorporation of cropping areas that are currently being
misused due to temperature restrictions. A 500,000-hectare-surface is
expected to be incorporated as an area feasible to be planted with this
new material. Likewise, damage caused by frosts is expected to decrease,
while productivity with respect to plantations current distribution may
also improve. There are some high quality plots of land for Eucalyptus
globulus production by the Andes Mountains foothills. However, these areas
are not available by now, because of coldness restrictions, which may
be overcome with the results of this project.
Summing up, the program that has been introduced will
make it possible to complement and strengthen the Eucalyptus globulus
genetic improvement programs that are being developed at present. As a
result, the genetic basis supporting such programs will feature a greater
diversity while getting broader. The forest production process yield capacity
will also increase and additional cropping areas that are currently being
misused due to temperature limitation are going to become part of the
process. On the other hand, growth losses and death rate resulting from
frost will decrease in those existing areas with Eucalyptus globulus plantations.
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