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A New Era for the Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center

10 A NEW ERA FOR THE HARDWOOD TREE IMPROVEMENT AND REGENERATION CENTER Mark Coggeshall1, Carolyn (Carrie) Pike2, Liz Jackson3, Lenny Farlee3, and Robert Wagner3 1US Forest Service, HTIRC, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA 2US Forest Service, Northeast Area S&P Forestry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA 3Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA The Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center (HTIRC) was initiated in 1999 as a national center for research, development and technology transfer for hardwood stewardship. Black walnut (Juglans nigra) was selected as the central hardwood flagship species due to its high timber value and veneer markets that continue to drive demand for quality planting stock in the region. Seed orchards at Indiana Division of Forestry’s Vallonia State Nursery, developed in cooperation with the HTIRC, produce select black walnut seedlings with improvements for straightness and volume. We have also conducted research and made selections in other species including northern red oak (Quercus rubra), black cherry (Prunus serotina), and white oak (Q. alba). The HTIRC has established an extensive clone bank of butternut (J. cinerea) to aid in development of resistance to butternut canker, a devastating pathogen, to facilitate its restoration. We have cooperated with other USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station units to establish seed orchards with improved resistance to beech bark disease. Additionally, field trials of American chestnut (Castanea dentata) have been established in collaboration with the The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF), and refined nursery propagation and grafting techniques have been developed for Juglans spp. Tree improvement efforts in the central hardwood region face many obstacles. For one, silvicultural systems are dominated by uneven-aged management which has led to dual emphases on increasing genetic diversity and improving highly heritable traits, such as stem form, in lieu of volume. In recent years, the region has experienced numerous invasions of exotic insects, diseases and plants along with a burgeoning white tailed deer population requiring exclosure of small trees. Further, demand for hardwood seedlings vacillates with availability of government cost-sharing programs, and wanes with surging crop prices that drive landowner decisions to farm rather than reforest newly planted acres.


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Author(s): Mark Coggeshall, Carolyn (Carrie) Pike, Liz Jackson, Lenny Farlee, Robert Wagner

Publication: Tree Improvement and Genetics - Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference - 2017