Status and Development of Tree Breeding And Improvement of Species Amenable for Industrial Agroforestry

Abstract

India is a robust producer and consumer of wood and wood products. The growing population, urbanization, industrialization, changes in housing and education policies, etc. have accelerated the wood demand at an alarming rate. The legal and policy guidelines have restricted the availability of wood from natural forest which ushered in a total mismatch between the demand and supply. Considering this into account, the Government of India through its National Forest Policy (1988) and National Agroforestry Policy (2014) have directed all stakeholders to promote industrial agroforestry. However, industrial agroforestry has witnessed wide range of challenges and constraints and among them, the availability of improved genetic resources through tree improvement programme is most significant. Against this backdrop, TNAU has prioritized species amenable for industrial agroforestry and developed genetic stocks through systematic tree breeding protocol and approach. Over a decade of tree improvement programme resulted in development and release of 11 High Yielding Short Rotation (HYSR) clones through State variety Release Committee (SVRC) and over 15 different varieties under pre-release stage which witnessed the adoption by wide range of Wood-based Industries (WBIs) due to their wood quality, productivity and early harvest. The current manuscript elaborates the challenges, species prioritized, breeding plan and approach and development of HYSR varieties amenable for multifunctional industrial utility in association with wide range of Wood-based industries.