In addition to the long standing Sitka spruce breeding programme, the CBC’s aim is to take forward a breeding and selection programme in “Alternative Conifers” by which we mean productive alternatives to Sitka spruce. Our ultimate goal is to provide forest reproductive materials to the industry with superior genetics to enable forest owners and managers to diversify their forests without compromising economic viability.
Tree breeding is costly and takes many years to achieve so the CBC’s current Breeding Strategy is focussed upon three key “alternative” species: Norway spruce, Douglas fir and Scots pine. Please refer to the species tabs for a detailed description of our live activities relating to the individual programmes.
Of all our programmes, our work on Sitka spruce has been running longest and has the largest number of projects. Work on the “Alternative Conifers” programmes in Douglas & Norway started in 2021 with the very first stage of breeding – to identify Plus Trees, collect scions and set up dual-purpose seed orchards. We are delighted to say that this work completed in spring of 2025. Our new orchards will act both to increase the supply of improved (“qualified” seed) to the industry and as a resource for stage 1 breeding. We expect these seed orchards to start producing seed commercially in around 4-5 year time. Some of the seed will then be taken forward for progeny testing, and controlled pollinations for breeding can begin.
Work on Scots pine has been focussed on collecting Plus Tree scions from southern England with the aim of future proofing existing seed orchards to ensure the suitability of seed supply for drier conditions.
A key element of all our foundational breeding work has been to carry out DNA “fingerprinting” of all our Plus Trees to ensure accurate identification of individuals throughout the breeding process. We are delighted to have an ongoing collaboration with Oxford University’s Dept of Biological Sciences to develop the genomic techniques and create a Plus Tree fingerprint database.
Further reading regarding choice or species and provenance:
- https://www.forestry.gov.uk/fr/treespecies
- https://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/forestresearch.nsf/searchtreespecies
- https://forestry.gov.scot/publications/101-new-breeding-plans-for-alternative-conifers/viewdocument/101
- Tree breeding FR FTN Aug 2020
Further reading regarding wood quality of alternative conifer species:
https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/research/timber-properties-of-noble-fir-norway-spruce-western-red-cedar-and-western-hemlock-grown-in-great-britain/