The Foundation
Our Production varieties, developed for New Zealand and Australia, are derived from top crosses of New Zealand Radiata Pine Breeding Company (www.rpbc.co.nz) breeding parents, which are themselves of genetically superior quality. We are an active member of the Breeding Company, and have full access to Breeding Company germplasm and R&D Data.
Commercial development of our Production Varieties represents the third step change in quality of genetically improved radiata pine. The steps are:
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Development of open-pollinated seed orchards, where seed was produced from genetically superior mothers identified in breeding trials.
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Production of top crosses, where seed was produced from superior mothers and fathers then multiplied using rooted cutting technology.
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Replication of specific genotypes selected for superior performance represented by our improved Production Varieties.