Long term tree breeding as analyzed
by the breeding cycler tool
Dag Lindgren and Darius Danusevicius
Presentations were made at Umeå (February 20) and Ekebo (March 2, 2004). An overall summary here.
The presentations are structured
in three powerpoint files
Opening introductory lecture: "Breeding
cycler and the road to it"
Long-term-cycling strategy and
tactics
The presented results were
based on studies using the breeding cycler tool, an
EXCEL-sheet, which is potentially able to fine-tune many aspects of
long-term breeding. We have till early 2004 completed four
major studies (+) and some other work using this methodology.
We feel that both the method and some of the results are of interest Tree Breeding in general and Swedish Tree Breeding in Particular. As a result of the seminars and the discussion around it, we have suggested some possible implications Continued discussion around this document is invited, we will try to discuss the matters raised in the document.
A caveat: The population used was a full sib family and that means that the variance components are smaller than those in the full population, this need to be kept in mind if new entries are inserted in our EXCEL sheets or models.
From Ekebo we keep 3
pictures Darius took here. Slide 1, Slide 2, Slide 3 Darius is a
visiting scientist at our Umeå department till April 26.
Clonal
testing is fantastic - but presented before! e.g.
at this link. and will therefore not be discussed in detail here.
It is helpful if you
understand something from the principles mentioned on theory
of gene diversity in forest tree breeding (it is
also available as a slideshow) and
at a seminar in the beginning of 2003).
Some further
reasons for the show:
Sadly, I will not supervise another PhD thesis to the end, but this is a
substitute, which looks very much like a thesis, and thus probably keeps me
happy for this year. Once upon a time SkogForsk had a "förädlingsråd"
for discussions between the University and SkogForsk. That nice idea seems to
have ceased to work with the second meeting. This seminar may serve as a
substitute 2004. My comments at the two meetings 2000 and in particular the one from 1998 may have relevance and I
gave a seminar
in Canton 2002 which concerns the need of forest tree breeding.. I suggest
it as a nice principle that breeding plans are updated each decade, thus it is
time to do that for the "Swedish plan", and this seminar may serve as
a trigger. If nothing else, references need some polishing and updating and
descriptions can probably be more up to date, and the formal quality of the
Swedish plan could be improved.
