Propagation: getting the best from the material
Propagation of forest reproductive material creates the link to future generations of trees and forests. It is the process whereby new plants are produced from the material. The majority of propagation techniques start with seed, but vegetative material is often used. Suitable methods need to be adopted so that best use is made of the material, and previous efforts of selection, collection and handling of reproductive material are not wasted. For reforestation programs, propagation by seed will be done typically in nurseries. In the case of management of natural forests, regeneration will be promoted via natural seed fall under field conditions, possibly aided by direct seeding or enrichment planting. There are also newer specialised techniques.
We provide an overview of the key issues and sources of information under the following three topics: (1) an overview of the techniques of artificial propagation in nurseries dedicated to raising the plants; (2) propagation of material (usually seed) by natural regeneration (sometimes helped by artificial techniques) in the field and (3) the use of specialised techniques such as grafting.
See the previous topicChoosing the right type of materialfor a table that summarises methods of propagation.- Propagating in nurseries
- Regeneration in the field
- Specialized propagation