Plantation Improvement Using Technically Improved Clonal Propagation – An Overview of the Latest Technology in India.

Abstract

Cloning is a propagation technology that can be very effective in making practical use, via ‘clonal forestry’, of proven superior individuals occurring in nature or developed by breeding. The alternative (traditional) propagation route to improved plantations, ‘seedling forestry’, involves mass selection for various kinds of seed orchards that in turn provide improved seed. Although this approach has often served well in the past, and will continue to do so in appropriate circumstances (usually where requisite resources for clonal forestry are lacking, or profitability of it would be marginal), clonal forestry is currently showing great potential in the forestry industry. This paper outlines the conditions under which clonal forestry is an appropriate option and, as background to enable a better understanding of clonal propagation, a simplified explanation of variation in tree species and improvement options has been provided,