Novel forest tree breeding for tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress

Forest policy in many countries support the use of a wider array of species for improved stability and biodiversity, and global warming also creates interest for using new species. This leads to the need for seed sources of species that have previously been neglected in breeding programs, for breeding populations with high genetic diversity, time saving breeding strategies and precise phenotyping of abiotic and or biotic stress in the breeding programs.     

Breeding of many species and for multiple sites calls for cost effective, low input breeding approaches. A multiple population breeding strategy with seedling seed orchards can be an option targeting conservation of high diversity among gene pools while simultaneously increase genetic diversity of seed sources for species with scattered distributions. The latter by combining genetic material from small populations.

Breeding without breeding

The establishment of quasi-field trials (breeding without breeding) where genetic markers are applied to construct the pedigree in forest stands, is an option to save time and costs for the establishment of ordinary field trials. The approach also offers an opportunity to identify genetic material with high tolerance to biotic or abiotic stress in specific stands where the stress factor is present.

Genomic selections and genome-wide association studies aims to provide opportunities for early selection and more efficient selections. Coupled with extensive phenotyping data, the application of genomics may also increase the chances to select tolerant genotypes in populations influenced by biotic or abiotic stress.

In the context of climate change, the importance of phenotyping for tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress is increasing. New assessment techniques are required, and remote sensing using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) can be an option to obtain a reliable phenotyping.

Aim of the workshop

The aim of the meeting is to present and discuss the experiences and issues related to novel tree breeding, breeding for minor tree species and novel phenotyping. We invite the participants to give presentations on their work and results related to the above topics.