Swaziland is a country that is richly endowed with a wide range of forest genetic resources. Unfortunately, these remain undeveloped and under-utilized on one hand, and face the threat of being destroyed by exotic species, agriculture and effects of development, on the other hand. It is however encouraging to note that a substantial pool of indigenous technical knowledge exists in the communities. Many local farmers are conversant with methods of seed collection, storage and germination and more importantly, utilization and preservation.
A positive development has been the recent establishment of the National Tree Seed Centre through the SADC (Southern African Development Community) Regional Tree Seed Centre Network. The Tree Seed Centre is mainly focused on collection/production and distribution of superior quality seed for indigenous trees. End uses of seed include tree growers, nursery managers and farmers.
The establishment of the tree seed centre is a crucial development for tree improvement in the country. The centre has identified several seed sources in the four ecogeographical regions of the country and has also outlined a number of priority species and actions for the purposes of germplasm improvement and conservation. The country’s initiatives on domestication and improvement of forest genetic resources are severely limited by lack of trained personnel. Only one forest research officer exists in the country and he needs a pool of support staff that would need to undergo basic training in tree breeding, to work with him.
The research officer possesses basic knowledge on tree breeding and has recently adopted on a tree improvement programme which encompasses selection of certain superior parent trees alongside advanced silvicultural practices (Zobel and Talbert, 1984). His strategy for domestication and improvement of indigenous plants of socio-economic importance to Swaziland, in particular indigenous fruits, has been adopted from John and Broard (1994).
