In message , Michael
Bell writes
In message
Charlie Pridham wrote:

In article ,
says...
I am thinking of breeding a tree for improvement. It is a
catkin-bearer. That creates both opportunities and problems.

Can anybody put me in touch with a breeder who could help me with
breeding methods, how to produce mutations, etc, etc.

I would be most grateful

Michael Bell


I think a bit of reading would be better, most breeders try and earn
money at it so would be interested in your paying them to do it but not
in telling you how to cut them out of the loop!

Ah, but I can be pretty sure nobody else is thinking of breeding
Alders. But yes, I do plan to read books. But I can't find any. I
don't know what key words would bring out books of interest on Google.
Can you suggest?

Michael Bell

It would help if you were more precise in your statement of your
objectives. Are you wanting to select desirable characteristics from a
particular species? Are you wanting to hybridise different species? What
characteristics are you interested in?

It appears it has been suggested, in a message which didn't reach me,
that you google for Plant Breeders Alder. Probably breeding would do
better than breeders, but restricting a search to Alder is probably
unwise.

Using the botanical names (in this case Alnus) is probably more reliable
in finding stuff in the scientific and sylvicultural literature. As
Alnus is not a genus that has had much work done on it you might find
useful information by looking at the literature on other amentiferous
plants such as willow (Salix) and poplar (Populus), both of which are
bred for timber, coppice products and biomass, and hazel (Corylus),
which is the nearest relative to Alnus that I think is likely to have
had much work done on it. (I think that Betula is the closest genus to
Alnus, but it doesn't have much commercial significance.)

There's a recent paper in the Journal of Forest Science
(http://journals.uzpi.cz:8050/uniqueFiles/00040.pdf) on the
hybridisation of Alnus glutinosa and Alnus incana. This refers to other
papers. (Papers from Watsonia are being put online, but the Alnus one
doesn't seem to be there yet; the online run of Rhodora terminates two
years too early.)
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley