Development and evaluation of methods for efficient production of hybrid larch and fir species in forestry

Climate changes threatens European forests. A restructuration to climate-adapted forests and the long-term banking of (forest) genetic resources is therefore one of the most urgent tasks in German forestry. This project aims to further develop and mature market technologies to produce robust genotypes of larch and fir in large numbers, independently of the availability of seeds. Based on somatic embryogenesis as a technique of clonal clonal plant propagation, suitable clonal variety mixtures can be assembled and produced at any scale. The basis for this project is a genetically diverse clone bank from readily available, cryopreserved larch and fir genotypes. This project aims to optimize all critical points of the biotechnological process chain and in parallel anchor all steps at the participating nurseries and horticultural enterprises, thus completing the transition from research to applied mass production.