Advanced breeding and deployment methods for tropical acacias

Overview

This project was designed to strengthen the tree improvement capability of Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences (VAFS) through increasing sophistication in both strategies and technologies.

It built on a substantial body of work in Vietnam in the breeding of acacia species and hybrids, which enhanced the production of high-value germplasm required to meet the Government of Vietnam's objectives for an expanded plantation estate for sawlog and fibre production. The project comprised a key element in a suite of linked ACIAR projects designed to underpin the sustainability of, and add value to, Vietnam's acacia and eucalypt plantation estates, and the processing industries based on them.

Vietnam now has an acacia plantation estate of over 400,000 ha, including over 150,000 ha of clonal Acacia mangium X A. auriculiformis (A. hybrid), whose large-scale operational use has been pioneered by Vietnamese scientists.

Project outcomes

Designed and implemented an enhanced clonal production and deployment strategy to deliver an ongoing stream of tested A. hybrid clones to tree farmers throughout Vietnam (the program integrated appropriate breeding, seed production management, propagation and information management strategies).
Refined and demonstrated deployment strategies for sexually propagated A. mangium, to expand use of seed from the elite selections planted in the Forest Science Institute of Vietnam orchards.
Continued development of new polyploid varieties with potential for improved wood properties and reproductive sterility.

Project final report

12 June 2015