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| Photo: Aulis Leppänen |
Genetically bred seeds of Scots pine to suit the conditions in northern Finland are mainly produced in seed orchards founded in central Finland in the 1960s and -70s. This is because seeds in central Finland ripen almost every year, while good seed years are rare in Lapland. However, the proximity of nearby forests represents a problem for today’s seed orchards, because pollen indigenous to central Finland is diffused to the orchard plantations. Seeds collected from forests in northern Finland are partly hybrids that are not suitable for use in Lapland. There are occasional years, however, when weather conditions are favourable for germination; both male and female flowers are concurrent and pollination occurs between seed orchid trees.
Since there is annual variation in seed hardiness, the seeds for use in the most northern part of Finland are separately tested every year. The hardiness can be established by freezing seedlings grown from the seed batch. Northern seedlings suffer less damage than seedlings with a genome type derived from too southern a progeny. Based on the freezing test, Metla determines a geographic area for the seed batch, to be confirmed by the Finnish Food Safety Authority (Evira).
Additional information: www.metla.fi/hanke/7042/index-en.htm
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