The “ Best” Seed Sources for Christmas Trees Chal Landgren
OSU Extension
A quick review of heritability
A practical look at selecting the best of what’s available. Remember, there is no “Perfect Source”- it always depends on availability, your definition of perfection and so on ….
Review research and collections in Turkey
Historical Trends
Phenotype(what we
see)
Genotype(what we can’t see)
Environment
= +
P = G E+
Heritability-(or if you cant pass it on– don’t worry
about it)
Genetics controls about a quarter of the variation we have to deal with
StrongerBud Break Time (0.9 - 1.0)Limb Size Cone Production
ModerateColor (0.2 - 0.3)Value (0.2 - 0.3)Height (0.2 – 0.4)Pest Resistance (0.10 – 0.4)
Getting What You Expect
Another Strategy
Every tree order will include 10 trees from the worse source we know!!!!
Genetics- is only part of a successful operation
Site - #1
Nursery/Stock Type/Storage - #2
Culture/skill - #3
Genetics- adds value
Weed Control- (improved trees die too)
Pests
Noble fir-What’s Available?
Noble fir
053- Stott Mtn
RF 15 (Elite), RF 1
053, 252, 452, 440
433 DK. Blue
PNWCTA Orchard Run
Elite
241-3 (Baw Faw)
Ask
In test- looks promising
#4 and #2 in 87 test
Good tress (and poor)
Don’t confuse the #’s!
A mix of good trees w/ pollen from 6 or 8
Ask
In testing- OK earlier
RFRF
Key Results-NF1996
What’s Good- Ht., Grade, CSNN
6X10 excellent!!
Dk sources slow, some had poor internodal bud fill, good color
Riley Sources good
2 BLM sources encouraging
R 10
D7
51-17-6
Family Ave Value % of Family>6 ft. Grade 1 +R6X 20.9$ 47%17-6 19.0$ 53%R15 18.6$ 45%11-3 18.6$ 51%16-1 18.2$ 38%31-8 18.1$ 35%D7 15.5$ 19%
D16 14.3$ 15%
Ave. 17.2$
Review of some Results
NF 2000
Top Ranked Examples
5X15, 51-8-10, 51-3-2 (Pictured)
NF 2000-Value by source-Ave
NF 2000
$0.0
$5.0
$10.0
$15.0
$20.0
$25.0
$30.0
Source
Ave
. $/tr
ee
New Area- Old trees
Finding 51-8-10 Climbing it
Site variation for noble fir- NF 2000
Same trees at each site
All “good” sites with great growers
Sites will catch up- yet time is money.
Noble fir Plots
Ht." Value
Site Ave Ave
A 92 $25
B 77 $18
C 81 $14
NF 2001
Best in This Trial 51-3-1 51-11-4 51-17-6 RF 5X8 51-12-7
Noble Fir Trials-NF 2002
Best in this trial 51-12-8 B4 RF 10X6 DNR 1927 51-11-5
Noble Fir Trials-NF 2004
•Testing 57 Sources
•Baw Faw (6), Weyco (8), Stott Mtn (19), Plum Ck. (9) Hostetler Orch (1), BLM (11), Misc
•Will need another orchard
NF 2004
Some General Lessons for Noble
Danish sources are slow and blue
Cascade sources have done poorly
Riley-Fanno area have been good
Edwards Butte ‘promising’
Nordmann fir-What’s Available?
Nordmann fir Nordmann fir Ambrolauri Ambrolauri-Tlugi Borjomi (Russia)
Ambrolauri- Tends to be slow growing, but later bud break
The “Turkish” Nordmann have generally been poor for quality.
Yayla means near timberline- avoid.
Grand fir-What’s Available?
Grand fir
Idaho
Clearwater
251, 675 (E. side OR. Cascades)
Grand fir- test information
Vernonia- 9th out of 22
S. Or and N. CA.- Avoid (frost and winter kill problems)
No test info from 675 seed zone (Mosier OK, Camus valley- frost damaged)
Clearwater- good
N. ID.- generally good.
Douglas-fir-What’s Available?
Douglas-fir 030, 041, 052, 053, 061,
251, 252, 262, 452 Vancouver Isl or-
Qualicum Powell River
Dallas Seed Orch.
Texada Isl.
Three #’s code- 0= coast, 2 E. side coast range, 4 W. side of Cascades
It is a large Isl. !!!
Smaller- some test info.
Mainland BC- good
Ask. Probably a mix
Cooks Bay- good, wide range of sites, slower overall.
Other DF Options
Improved-ask how?
Nehalem 251 Dallas Low
Lincoln NF
Forest trees-goals –Fast growth, wood quality.
Rhobdocline might be a problem- Good in PA.
Val 3Color Variation
Family #
Location/Source Value (std dev)
Bud break
Color
V3 Val 3 X 053 $11.80 (2.8) 3.8 3.7
138 Gillies Bay (Texada Isl.)
$11.30 (2.1) 2.9 4.5
133 Cooks Bay (Texada Isl.)
$11.10 (1.9) 2.2 4.5
136 Shelter Bay (Texada Isl.)
$10.90 (1.9) 2.2 4.6
137 Gillies Bay (Texada Isl.)
$10.60 (2.4) 2.2 4.8
135 Cooks Bay(Texada Isl.)
$10.40 (1.8) 2.2 4.9
Range $11.80-$6.50 1.5-4.4 3.6-4.9
Douglas-fir Progeny Test
TI 139 Val 3
Other orchards and options
Needle LossScreening WSU
When planting an unproven source, remember the following-
Table 1. Comparison of desirable traits for an idealized natural-grown low density European and a medium to high density sheared American Christmas tree .
Trait Europe USA
Growth Slow Fast
Crown Density Low to Medium Medium to High
Internodal Branches Many Many
Crown Diameter Small Large
Branch AngleSlightly Above
HorizontalPreferences Vary
American Christmas Tree Journal. 1999. Vol. 43(2):4-11. by John Frampton and Craig McKinley
Reality CheckMost plantings are still seed zone or
provenance collections, so there will be wide variation in the planted field.
The “system” relies heavily on the honesty of all parties seed collector through nursery.
Never ask “do have source XYZ?” Ask--- “What do you have in species ABC?”
With developing orchard capacity more improved sources available.
Some “issues” to think aboutDo you know what consumers want now
from your trees?
How do we know what consumers will want in 20 years? Breeding trees takes time.
We may want to offer a wider range of sources with bio’s on each so growers can pick according to their customer needs
Finding information
Call the nursery
Ask other growers
Past issues of LO
Seed Zone Maps http://
www.silvaseed.com
Making your best guess Try to match
elevations (avoid high elev.)
Keep collection Lat. about the same as planting site or move N.
Be Clear About What You Want!
An Armchair visit to Turkey
Why go to Turkey?
Arrangements and Participants
Bud break variation & different shearing
Growing Nordmann & Turkish Fir
•Slow for first 2 years
•Only one growth flush/season
•Some sources have significant in-pointing branches and/or up- turned whorls.
•Buds clustered near outer 30% of branch- avoid “fat” trees early
Turkish fir-What’s Available?
Turkish fir Turkish fir Bolu Bolu-Kokez
Kokez has been a good source
Ankara-more than the capital
Every tree was a research project
Foliage difference in same area
What we know about each tree
DNA samples, color Cone size, maturity etc.
What we know about each tree
Average needle size Keepability
It’s always time for tea and fungus
The trees are not free from problems
Safranbolu- World Heritage City
Well used forests
Cones from the first sites
Collecting in Parks and much lower elevation
Trojan fir and the battle of Gallipoli
What’s Next ?
Turning seed into seedlings
Germ. Testing underway at WSU now.
113 Seedlots (100 from TK+10 Nordmann from DK, 3 local options)
30 trees/seedlot
2 planting sites in each location
Plant in 2013
Istanbul sightsAyasofya and cisterns
Trabzon Area- Nordmann fir
Hand weeding, tea and hazelnuts
Stands of Nordmann
Georgia