Operational deployment of genetic gain

Abstract

Tree improvement is central to increasing plantation productivity per unit land area in many countries that rely on an exotic fast grown plantation resource as a source of wood and fibre. In order to achieve an acceptable return on the investment made in tree breeding, it is important that material be deployed with both good husbandry and on sites where the genetic potential can be expressed. Apart from the obvious breeding and propagation of genetically improved material, such a deployment strategy has three components.