Trees
grown in Agroforestry are known as trees Outside forests (TOF), as those
trees are planted on private land
as well as on government waste land outside forests. As per the research paper
published by the Central Agroforestry Forestry Research Institute (CAFRI),
Jhansi (UP), the Annual Demand for Planting material in our country is $3 billion.
Out of these three billion, species like Eucalyptus, Poplar, and Casuarina have
a demand of 38 million. About 6,000 plant nurseries are producing plants to
meet the demand, but they could hardly fulfil it due to a lack of Quality
Planting Materials. Out of these 6,000 nurseries, 4200 are unregulated
nurseries owned by private parties, and 1800 are government-owned. Due to the
use of seeds and scions collected from unscientifically managed sources, plant
seedlings produced in those nurseries suffer from various adverse factors like
diseases caused by fungi, pests, the bio-physical condition of the habitats,
etc., and as a result, mortality occurs at an increasing rate in planting
sites.
Planting materials of authentic vegetative or seed origin produced in advanced technology nurseries or tissue culture labs with a proven track record of high survival percentages in the field, faster growth, higher yields, resistance to pests and diseases, adaptability to local bio-physical, climatic, and socio-economic conditions, and high market demand will be eligible to qualify as Quality Planting Material (QPM). It should originate from properly established seed orchards, clonal orchards, and trees produced by advanced-technology nurseries. The mother stock used for production of QPM in hi-tech and satellite nurseries (temporary nurseries established near the plantation sites) should be of diverse genetic origin.
Proper identification of tree species should be done by a recognised expert in plant taxonomy. A panel of such experts should be appointed and made accessible to the accrediting agencies. The use of DNA barcoding for precise identification is a modern technology that could be further developed and used to confirm the species identity. Genetically superior trees at the mature stage of growth and with the flowering cycle documented should be used for multiplication in accredited nurseries. Establishment of clonal and seed orchards at nurseries, state forest departments, research institutes, and agricultural universities will ensure that tested seed and clones are available for mass propagation.
A QPM nursery
Properly and correctly identified seeds and genetically superior clones of a tree species obtained with the necessary certificates of origin will be mass propagated, and the planting material conforming to the quality standards will be labelled as “Certified Planting Material” by certified nurseries following guidelines issued by a certified agency.
For maintaining traceability records, documentation of the chain-of-custody of seed and/or vegetative material used for producing planting stock will be maintained by the accredited nursery at all stages, from the certified mother trees through any of the mass propagation systems to the point of sale from where the farmers procure the planting stock.
For the purpose of certification of QPM, a nursery, after having identified the species and specific clones for propagation on its premises, obtains and maintains the necessary documentation attesting to the species and clonal identity. If procured from research organisations, agricultural universities, the State Forest Department, or other agencies, the certificate will be provided with the exchange of plant material. Clearly labelled clones will be maintained in the seed or clonal orchard and used for multiplication. The flow of diagram of procedure of certification is shown below.
FLOW DIAGRAM
Selection of mother plant/Generation of passport data
Confirmation of species
Clonal identity (DNA barcoding or fingerprinting)
Certification of mother plant/Virus indexing
Maintenance in seed or cloonal orchards
Sexual or asexual multiplication in an accredited nursery
Assessment of planting material for nursery quality parameters
Issue of a certificate
For the mass production of QPM, any of the popular sexual or asexual propagation methods supported by modern technology can be used. This includes propagation through seed, rooted stem cuttings, branch cuttings, layering, grafting, rhizome offsets, and tissue culture. Macro-proliferation of the resulting planting stock is a method that can be followed to maintain stocks for many cycles.