2. HOW TO SELECT GOOD MOTHER TREES

Prior to seed collection, you will need to select and mark good mother trees. These are the trees you will use as sources of high quality seed. Here are the major characteristics that determine a good mother tree:

1. Healthy and free of diseases and insects
2. Nearly mature
3. Good producers of the desired product
4. Growing in the midst of a healthy stand of the same species.

To choose the right mother trees, remember this simple rule:

A tree's off-spring will usually resemble its mother.

Therefore:

• If you want straight trunks, choose a straight-trunked mother tree.
• For a multi-trunk fodder tree, select multi-trunk mother trees.
• For trees which tolerate drought, or flooding, select good looking mother trees from dry or flooded sites, etc..

For timber trees:

• Mother trees should be fast growing, very straight, and have few and thin branches (Figure 1).

Figure 1 A good mother tree for timber.

For fodder, good mother trees should:

• Be fast growing.
• Have many branches.
• Have several trunks.
• Grow new leaves quickly after fodder harvesting.

Remember: Trees which have leaves all year round produce more fodder than those which lose their leaves part of the year. The most important factors in selecting mother trees for fodder are:

• Fast production of leaf matter and pods preferred by local animals.
• Ability of the tree to recover after cutting (Figure 2).

Figure 2 A good mother tree for fodder.

For fruit trees:

• Collect seed from trees of local varieties producing good quantities of tasty, healthy fruit of marketable size.

• Low branching trees may be preferable as mother trees. It is easy to pick fruits from low branches.

For fruit trees, high quality varieties are usually grafted onto native, or hardy rootstocks. To get a high quality fruit tree, these steps should be done:

1. Grow seedlings of drought tolerant and disease resistant mother trees.
2. Then graft a branch of a high quality variety onto the seedling when it is strong and well-established.
3. Keep your eyes open for trees of high quality varieties near your home. From these, you can obtain scions to use for grafting. Otherwise, obtain scions from commercial fruit nurseries (Figure 3).

Figure 3 A good mother tree for fruits.