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New Trees for the North Central States· Masthead Logo Volume 48 Article 5 1-1-1961 New Trees For The orN th Central States Jonathan W. Wright Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/amesforester Part of the Forest Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Wright, Jonathan W. (1961) "New Trees For The orN th Central States," Ames Forester: Vol. 48 , Article 5. Available at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/amesforester/vol48/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Ames Forester by an authorized editor of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. New Trees For The North Central States· by JONATHAN W. WRIGHT OuR present forest trees are good. They are not can be tentatively recommended in place of its perfect, though. They developed as the result of parents in this country. Provenance trials of Scotch natural selection to fit various ecological niches in pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) have showed which geo­ pre-white man forests. Our forest sites have changed graphic origins furnish the deep green, short-needled and wild type trees are no longer in perfect equili­ trees so desired by Christmas tree growers. brium with their environment. Also, natural selec­ These examples are a small fraction of the im­ tion favored types which survived and reproduced proved varieties yet to come. Serious forest genetics best, not the types which would produce the best in this region started only 6 years ago. The tempo of sawlogs or the best pulpwood. the work increased rapidly and nine experiment There is every reason to believe that the tree stations are now involved. It is their future results breeder can accomplish as much improvement in in which we are most interested. trees as the corn breeder did in corn. The theoretical It is possible to build a model showing that new foundations of hybrid corn were laid in the 1880's. tree varieties will come into being 30 times slower It was introduced as a practical farm crop in the than new corn varieties because a tree generation is 1920's and a decade later had almost pushed the 30 times as long as a corn generation. It is possible older open-pollinated varieties off the market. As also to build a model showing that new tree varieties of 1961 the excess annual corn yields due to the can be developed as fast as new corn varieties. The advent of the hybrid varieties are more than suffi­ truth is somewhere in between. I feel that a tree cient to pay for all American plant and animal breeder can probably get his new products on the breeding work for all time. market at least half as fast as a corn breeder. The Time Element in Tree Breeding This feeling of optimism is based partly on the When will these improved varieties of forest trees fossil record. It shows that evolution actually pro­ be available? A few have already been developed and ceeded faster in long-lived elephants and horses could be made available to commercial forest than in many short-lived animals. The optimism is nurserymen on two or three seasons' notice. The based partly on the fact that the tree breeder is work­ Shimek aspen hybrid (Populus alba L. XP. grandi­ ing with wild, unimproved species. Some of these are dentata Michx.) recently discovered in Iowa could so variable genetically that significant advances can be economically mass produced by seed next season. come from rapid "cream-skimming" studies. And A recent provenance study of jack pine ( Pinus part of the optimism is based on the output of the banksiana Lamb.) furnishes good evidence that most productive tree breeders of the past. For Lower Michigan origins are the fastest growing and example, a few workers at Institute of Forest Gene­ that foresters in the southern part of the Upper tics in California assembled a very large amount of Peninsula could advantageously order Lower Penin­ information on species crossability patterns, growth sula seed. The hybrid Japanese-European larch of F 1 hybrids, and mass production methods in the ( Larix leptolepis Gord. X L. decidua Mill.) has ex­ comparatively short space of 35 years. Their output celled its parents in dozens of European tests and would be a credit to any plant breeding agency. AMES FORESTER 11 One of the ways by which a tree breeder can keep improved hybrids 10 to 15 years hence. In 1960 a pace with his counterpart on wheat or corn is to work project known as NC-51, financed in part by a grant on several species simultaneously. An experiment on from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was under­ jack pine may be started in 1961 and near comple­ taken cooperatively by most of the Agricultural tion in 1971. An experiment on Scotch pine may be Experiment Stations in the North Central region. started in 1962 and near completion in 1972. By this The first official work on this project - undertaken shotgun approach there need be only one time lag. before the funds were actually available - was the By 1971 the breeder can be assured of a significant establishment of a series of 23 geographic origin new result every year. tests of the Japanese parent in nine different states. The study of the correlations between nursery Measurements made in the nursery before the trees and mature performance is another way of hasten­ were lifted showed that these origins differed from ing the tree breeders' work. A Swedish worker re­ each other by as much as 20 percent in growth rate, cently found a strong correlation in growth from as well as in winter hardiness and foliage color. between old Scotch pine trees and their young Similiar geographic origin studies of the European seedling progeny. He can now use this correlation parent will be established in 1963 or 1964. Evidence to establish the effectiveness of selection for growth from past European studies indicates that here, too, form in young plantings. some origins will exceed others by 40 percent in The most unfortunate aspect of the long-term growth rate and that there will be large differences nature of forest genetics research is the tendency in form. to excuse ourselves from precise experimental work. By 1970 or 1975 these tests will be sufficiently Many tests of species hybrids do not include the far along to guide tree planters who wish to use parents. Older provenance trials were not replicated. either parent as a pure species. They will also, in Grafted seed orchards are being established with no all probability, be flowering. At that time researchers information on heritability. These poorly designed in each of the states will make several artificial experiments are not shortcuts because their results hybrids among the best origins of each species and do not bear close scrutiny. Well-designed experi­ establish a series of Fi test plantations. Some of ments could be performed just as easily - some­ those F i's will be greatly superior to today's hybrids, times more so. which in turn have already surpassed the wild parental types. Today's and Tomorrow's Larches This story may sound a little too pat, for what Today's larches in the Lake States are the native about mass production problems? Fortunately, the tamaracks (Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch) of the Japanese and European parents bloom at nearly swamps. They are not planted to any great extent the same time. Hence, Syrach Larsen's suggestion because of the difficulties of swamp reforestation. of natural crossing gardens sounds feasible. His Tomorrow's larches will probably be very fast grow­ natural crossing gardens would consist of one self­ ing hybrids adapted to upland soils. Whether there incompatible clone of European (or Japanese) larch, will be one new variety adaptable to the whole surrounded by pollinating seedlings of the other region or several new varieties, each adapted to a species. The seedsman will have only to collect specific locality remains to be seen. hybrid cones from the clonal parent. English re­ I have already mentioned hybrid Japanese-Euro­ search on fruit production shows another possibility. pean larch as being available for planting if any­ This work consisted of pegging lateral branches to body wishes to make the artificial controlled pollina­ the ground. They fruited heavily, and enable arti­ tions, which are relatively easy. I would like to carry ficial pollinations to be made easily. Seed set data this hybrid back into its parents and forward into are such as to indicate that the use of hybrid seed the future to show how the prototype hybrids now would be economical if one man could pollinate available can be improved. more than a few hundred flowers per day. The first hybrids of this combination arose as the result of natural crossing between Japanese larch Scotch Pines for Timber and Christmas Trees trees and European larches planted on the Duke of Scotch pine is Europe's most common and wide­ Atholl's estate in Scotland. That was in 1907. By the spread timber tree. Its natural range extends from 1930's the Danes were repeating the cross and Spain and Turkey on the south, to Scotland and establishing test plots. In every case the hybrids northern Norway on the north, and to eastern outgrew either parent. It was the same story when Siberia on the east. Within these areas it is highly the Germans and English repeated the cross. The esteemed, filling all the industrial roles supplied hybrids outgrew their parents.
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