Introduction

The third
World Consultation on Forest Tree Breeding

promises and predictions

The third World Consultation on Forest Tree Breeding was held in Canberra, Australia, 21-26 March 1977, at the kind invitation of the Australian Government and in response to a recommendation made by the previous consultation convened in Washington, D.C., in 1969. The consultation was organized jointly by the Australian Government, the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Accommodations were generously provided by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in Canberra, with study tours arranged and hosted by the Papua New Guinea Office of Forests, the New Zealand Forest Research Institute and the forest services of the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. Much of the success of the consultation can be attributed to the efficient organization of the study tours and to the meticulous care taken by the Australian organizing committee in planning arrangements in Canberra. Grateful acknowledgement is also made to the Australian Development Assistance Agency for organizing an international training course on forest-tree breeding in conjunction with the consultation which enabled a number of participants from developing countries to attend the consultation who might not otherwise have been able to do so.

a catalyst

This third consultation, which brought together nearly 200 scientists and foresters from about 50 countries as well as representatives of FAO and IUFRO, was the latest in a series of international technical consultations in which FAO and IUFRO have cooperated. The first consultation in Stockholm in 1963 summarized information on the scientific principles of forest genetics and tree breeding and has been described as "hopeful". The second consultation in Washington in 1969 concentrated on the practical advantages of tree breeding and the means for large-scale production and utilization of high-yielding varieties and has been described as "full of promises and predictions". The third consultation perhaps will be viewed as catalytic as it focused on the need for more comprehensive breeding strategies and called for greater international cooperation, particularly in gene conservation and breeding of tropical species.

insurance policy: conservation of genetic diversity

In the last eight years notable advances have been made in the techniques of tree breeding, very much in keeping with the expectations of the Washington meeting, while there has been increased awareness of the need for gene conservation. Much of the tree breeding expertise and investment is still concentrated in the temperate zone, with the major emphasis on conifers, although in recent years evidence of the potential for rapid gains in the tropics and sub-tropics has led to a growing number of new breeding programmes in these zones. Many of these newer programmes are concentrating on broadleaved species as well as on conifers and are described in papers presented to the consultation. At the same time, the need to conserve genetic diversity for its insurance value, as an essential complement to developing superior genotypes for specific purposes, has assumed great significance. Attention has been focused on this problem by the FAO Panel on Forest Gene Resources, and by the interest in, and financial support given to, forest genetic resources by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

superior genotypes for specific purposes tree breeding to improve the quality of man's life

In his keynote address to the consultation, Dr. B.J. Zobel, E.F. Conger Distinguished Professor of Forestry at North Carolina State University, presented a broad and forward-looking view of the challenges facing land managers in general and tree breeders in particular in improving the quality of man's life. This set the stage for a technical review of recent advances in tree improvement, current problems and future prospects which was developed in technical sessions concerned with (i) exploration, utilization and conservation of gene resources, (ii) advances in species and provenance selection, (iii) population improvement, (iv) constraints on progress, and (v) analysis of the benefits and costs of tree improvement. The sixth technical session, choosing strategies for the future, drew together information from the earlier sessions and attempted to indicate the types of strategies and action programmes needed over the next decade if, in a world of shrinking forest land, tree breeding is to make its full contribution to the sustained supply of forest products and services essential for man's well-being.

It was fitting for a tree breeding consultation held in Australia that the technical sessions were complemented by a special invited lecture delivered by Emeritus Professor L.D. Pryor, of the Australian National University, on the reproductive habits of the eucalypts in relation to introduction and improvement throughout the world.

choosing strategies for the future

Each technical session was introduced by a position paper of global coverage written and presented by a senior rapporteur. The position papers, modified in the light of the discussions, form chapters of the present report. Special invited papers of more limited scope relevant to the topic of a session were presented by co-rapporteurs. These were followed by a discussion period, chaired by a technical chairman. After the discussions, the technical chairman and rapporteurs of each session drafted recommendations, which were amended and approved in the final plenary session. They are reproduced in this report along with the keynote address, the special invited lecture and the position papers. Also included is a list of the titles and authors of all papers presented, a list of officers and participants and a report on progress made on recommendations from the second consultation. The complete consultation proceedings are being printed by the CSIRO in Canberra.

an impetus for tree-improvement programmes

During the period of the consultation, there was an interesting half-day tour to see the Australian National University's work on resistance breeding in poplars and to view examples of tree improvement of Pinus radiata and natural eucalypt forests in the Australian Capital Territory. Four pre- and two post-consultation tours demonstrated the considerable progress made in breeding with a variety of species in the Australian region. A pre-consultation tour to Papua New Guinea showed natural stands and plantations of araucarias and breeding and provenance work involving teak, araucarias, and tropical pines. Grafting techniques are well developed for araucarias while promising results have been obtained from controlled pollination crosses of P. merkusii. Teak breeding is well advanced, with a seed orchard producing improved seed.

Participants in the New Zealand tour were greatly impressed with the scientific basis of the tree-improvement programme in that country, a programme which has provided important impetus to other work throughout the world In New Zealand a major industry based on a single-species forest crop has developed in a relatively short time. The first-rotation plantations of P. radiata have been screened for superior phenotypes, and a comprehensive progeny testing programme is now in progress. These tests are providing material for the advanced-generation breeding strategies now being implemented in New Zealand.

advanced-generation research clonal seed orchards

A pre-conference tour to northern Queensland concentrated on breeding P. caribaea in tropical and sub-tropical latitudes. Valuable results have been obtained from provenance and breeding studies of P. caribaea var. hondurensis in a relatively short period. Of particular interest were the clonal seed orchards of P. caribaea var. hondurensis and the potential of inter-varietal hybrids involving var. hondurensis and of the interspecific hybrid with P. elliottii. The itinerary included a visit to the CSIRO Division of Forest Research regional station at Atherton where work is in progress on taxonomy, flowering and ecology of indigenous tropical hardwoods.

In the tour of southeastern Australia, visitors were able to see native eucalypt forests which varied greatly in both morphology and productivity. Progress in pine breeding was well illustrated in programmes which are beginning to implement advanced-generation strategies. The breeding programme with Eucalyptus regnans, involving extensive new studies of the species throughout its natural range and a seed orchard operation, was of particular interest.

there is ample economic evidence to justify tree breeding

Two post-consultation tours took place: one to northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, the other to Western Australia. Near Coffs Harbour in N.S.W. the participants saw nursery and establishment techniques as well as tree, improvement work which included an interesting demonstration of the possibilities of tissue culture. A high-point was the visit to the impressive natural forest at Bruxner Park. In southern Queensland the now well-known work with southern pines from the United States was inspected. The field trials of this programme provide ample economic evidence to justify the continuation of tree breeding.

The tour to Western Australia concentrated particularly on the breeding of Pinus pinaster. This programme is an unusual one in that it incorporates selections from a gene pool established in Western Australia many years ago as well as material carefully chosen in Portuguese forests and imported as scions and pollen. Impressive gains, particularly in stem straightness, have been obtained.

Informal evening meetings of IUFRO working parties were held during the period of the consultation on reproductive processes (S 2.01-05,22 March), breeding Monterey pine (S 2.03-09,22 March) and eucalypt provenances and breeding eucalypts (S 2.02-09 and S 2.03-10 jointly, 24 March).

possibilities of tissue culture

In addition, the Australian Forest Research Working Group on Forest Genetics met in Canberra immediately preceding the consultation (20 March), and a joint meeting of IUFRO working parties on tropical species provenances (S 2.02-08) and breeding tropical species (S 2.03-01) was held in Brisbane, 4-7 April, following the post-consultation study tour to northern New South Wales.

In conclusion, the spirit of the consultation was captured in the closing address of Prof. Max Hagman, who, on behalf of IUFRO, said:

"...It is our obligation as thinking men to consider what in our work will be of good for society. When the first explorers went out from the old world most of what was beyond the horizon was unknown. In our days the geographic exploration of land is almost finished and only the deep sea, the blue continent, remains.

"This blue sea does not only surround the wonderful continent of Australia, it also unites all of us. This unity has been expressed since ancient times in the cooperative spirit and freedom of the men of the sea. There is, however, another ocean in which the same freedom and spirit exist: the green ocean of the forest. Trees do not recognize political borders; neither should science...

"I think we have all noted that the ocean of knowledge is only slightly touched yet. I feel that it is the opinion of this consultation that at least some scientists should endeavour to leave the familiar green shores and go out on the deep sea of the unknown and that they should look for the terra incognita that may lie beyond the horizon of the things we know today.

trees do not recognize political borders

"I cannot say what gains such an expedition may bring back since man is small and that sea is so large. I can only assure you, quoting from T.S. Eliot, that ' We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.' "

promises and predictions	The third World Consultation on Forest Tree Breeding was held in Canberra, Australia, 21-26 March 1977, at the kind invitation of the Australian Government and in response to a recommendation made by the previous consultation convened in Washington, D.C., in 1969. The consultation was organized jointly by the Australian Government, the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Accommodations were generously provided by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in Canberra, with study tours arranged and hosted by the Papua New Guinea Office of Forests, the New Zealand Forest Research Institute and the forest services of the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. Much of the success of the consultation can be attributed to the efficient organization of the study tours and to the meticulous care taken by the Australian organizing committee in planning arrangements in Canberra. Grateful acknowledgement is also made to the Australian Development Assistance Agency for organizing an international training course on forest-tree breeding in conjunction with the consultation which enabled a number of participants from developing countries to attend the consultation who might not otherwise have been able to do so.
a catalyst	This third consultation, which brought together nearly 200 scientists and foresters from about 50 countries as well as representatives of FAO and IUFRO, was the latest in a series of international technical consultations in which FAO and IUFRO have cooperated. The first consultation in Stockholm in 1963 summarized information on the scientific principles of forest genetics and tree breeding and has been described as "hopeful". The second consultation in Washington in 1969 concentrated on the practical advantages of tree breeding and the means for large-scale production and utilization of high-yielding varieties and has been described as "full of promises and predictions". The third consultation perhaps will be viewed as catalytic as it focused on the need for more comprehensive breeding strategies and called for greater international cooperation, particularly in gene conservation and breeding of tropical species.
insurance policy: conservation of genetic diversity	In the last eight years notable advances have been made in the techniques of tree breeding, very much in keeping with the expectations of the Washington meeting, while there has been increased awareness of the need for gene conservation. Much of the tree breeding expertise and investment is still concentrated in the temperate zone, with the major emphasis on conifers, although in recent years evidence of the potential for rapid gains in the tropics and sub-tropics has led to a growing number of new breeding programmes in these zones. Many of these newer programmes are concentrating on broadleaved species as well as on conifers and are described in papers presented to the consultation. At the same time, the need to conserve genetic diversity for its insurance value, as an essential complement to developing superior genotypes for specific purposes, has assumed great significance. Attention has been focused on this problem by the FAO Panel on Forest Gene Resources, and by the interest in, and financial support given to, forest genetic resources by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
superior genotypes for specific purposes tree breeding to improve the quality of man's life	In his keynote address to the consultation, Dr. B.J. Zobel, E.F. Conger Distinguished Professor of Forestry at North Carolina State University, presented a broad and forward-looking view of the challenges facing land managers in general and tree breeders in particular in improving the quality of man's life. This set the stage for a technical review of recent advances in tree improvement, current problems and future prospects which was developed in technical sessions concerned with (i) exploration, utilization and conservation of gene resources, (ii) advances in species and provenance selection, (iii) population improvement, (iv) constraints on progress, and (v) analysis of the benefits and costs of tree improvement. The sixth technical session, choosing strategies for the future, drew together information from the earlier sessions and attempted to indicate the types of strategies and action programmes needed over the next decade if, in a world of shrinking forest land, tree breeding is to make its full contribution to the sustained supply of forest products and services essential for man's well-being.
	It was fitting for a tree breeding consultation held in Australia that the technical sessions were complemented by a special invited lecture delivered by Emeritus Professor L.D. Pryor, of the Australian National University, on the reproductive habits of the eucalypts in relation to introduction and improvement throughout the world.
choosing strategies for the future	Each technical session was introduced by a position paper of global coverage written and presented by a senior rapporteur. The position papers, modified in the light of the discussions, form chapters of the present report. Special invited papers of more limited scope relevant to the topic of a session were presented by co-rapporteurs. These were followed by a discussion period, chaired by a technical chairman. After the discussions, the technical chairman and rapporteurs of each session drafted recommendations, which were amended and approved in the final plenary session. They are reproduced in this report along with the keynote address, the special invited lecture and the position papers. Also included is a list of the titles and authors of all papers presented, a list of officers and participants and a report on progress made on recommendations from the second consultation. The complete consultation proceedings are being printed by the CSIRO in Canberra.
an impetus for tree-improvement programmes	During the period of the consultation, there was an interesting half-day tour to see the Australian National University's work on resistance breeding in poplars and to view examples of tree improvement of Pinus radiata and natural eucalypt forests in the Australian Capital Territory. Four pre- and two post-consultation tours demonstrated the considerable progress made in breeding with a variety of species in the Australian region. A pre-consultation tour to Papua New Guinea showed natural stands and plantations of araucarias and breeding and provenance work involving teak, araucarias, and tropical pines. Grafting techniques are well developed for araucarias while promising results have been obtained from controlled pollination crosses of P. merkusii. Teak breeding is well advanced, with a seed orchard producing improved seed.
	Participants in the New Zealand tour were greatly impressed with the scientific basis of the tree-improvement programme in that country, a programme which has provided important impetus to other work throughout the world In New Zealand a major industry based on a single-species forest crop has developed in a relatively short time. The first-rotation plantations of P. radiata have been screened for superior phenotypes, and a comprehensive progeny testing programme is now in progress. These tests are providing material for the advanced-generation breeding strategies now being implemented in New Zealand.
advanced-generation research clonal seed orchards	A pre-conference tour to northern Queensland concentrated on breeding P. caribaea in tropical and sub-tropical latitudes. Valuable results have been obtained from provenance and breeding studies of P. caribaea var. hondurensis in a relatively short period. Of particular interest were the clonal seed orchards of P. caribaea var. hondurensis and the potential of inter-varietal hybrids involving var. hondurensis and of the interspecific hybrid with P. elliottii. The itinerary included a visit to the CSIRO Division of Forest Research regional station at Atherton where work is in progress on taxonomy, flowering and ecology of indigenous tropical hardwoods.
	In the tour of southeastern Australia, visitors were able to see native eucalypt forests which varied greatly in both morphology and productivity. Progress in pine breeding was well illustrated in programmes which are beginning to implement advanced-generation strategies. The breeding programme with Eucalyptus regnans, involving extensive new studies of the species throughout its natural range and a seed orchard operation, was of particular interest.
there is ample economic evidence to justify tree breeding	Two post-consultation tours took place: one to northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, the other to Western Australia. Near Coffs Harbour in N.S.W. the participants saw nursery and establishment techniques as well as tree, improvement work which included an interesting demonstration of the possibilities of tissue culture. A high-point was the visit to the impressive natural forest at Bruxner Park. In southern Queensland the now well-known work with southern pines from the United States was inspected. The field trials of this programme provide ample economic evidence to justify the continuation of tree breeding.
	The tour to Western Australia concentrated particularly on the breeding of Pinus pinaster. This programme is an unusual one in that it incorporates selections from a gene pool established in Western Australia many years ago as well as material carefully chosen in Portuguese forests and imported as scions and pollen. Impressive gains, particularly in stem straightness, have been obtained.
	Informal evening meetings of IUFRO working parties were held during the period of the consultation on reproductive processes (S 2.01-05,22 March), breeding Monterey pine (S 2.03-09,22 March) and eucalypt provenances and breeding eucalypts (S 2.02-09 and S 2.03-10 jointly, 24 March).
possibilities of tissue culture	In addition, the Australian Forest Research Working Group on Forest Genetics met in Canberra immediately preceding the consultation (20 March), and a joint meeting of IUFRO working parties on tropical species provenances (S 2.02-08) and breeding tropical species (S 2.03-01) was held in Brisbane, 4-7 April, following the post-consultation study tour to northern New South Wales.
	In conclusion, the spirit of the consultation was captured in the closing address of Prof. Max Hagman, who, on behalf of IUFRO, said:
	"...It is our obligation as thinking men to consider what in our work will be of good for society. When the first explorers went out from the old world most of what was beyond the horizon was unknown. In our days the geographic exploration of land is almost finished and only the deep sea, the blue continent, remains.
	"This blue sea does not only surround the wonderful continent of Australia, it also unites all of us. This unity has been expressed since ancient times in the cooperative spirit and freedom of the men of the sea. There is, however, another ocean in which the same freedom and spirit exist: the green ocean of the forest. Trees do not recognize political borders; neither should science...
	"I think we have all noted that the ocean of knowledge is only slightly touched yet. I feel that it is the opinion of this consultation that at least some scientists should endeavour to leave the familiar green shores and go out on the deep sea of the unknown and that they should look for the terra incognita that may lie beyond the horizon of the things we know today.
trees do not recognize political borders	"I cannot say what gains such an expedition may bring back since man is small and that sea is so large. I can only assure you, quoting from T.S. Eliot, that ' We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.' "