LATIN AMERICAN FOREST SEED BANK (BLSF)

Dr. Budowski, Head of the Forestry Department of the Tropical Agricultural Research and Training Centre (CATIE) at Turrialba, Costa Rica, has kindly supplied a list of species of which seed is most commonly kept in stock in the Latin American Forest Seed Bank. The note on the Seed Bank which follows is reproduced from Vol. 3, No. 1 of the Bulletin of CATIE (1975). It is emphasised that the Seed Bank offers seed lots for experimental use and cannot normally supply large (commercial) quantities.

“The Latin American Forest Seed Bank (BLSF) is a unit of the Forestry Department of the Tropical Agricultural Research and Training Centre (CATIE). Its establishment in 1967 was due mainly to the interest in several Latin American countries to introduce exotic species to meet the forest industry's demand for wood. The trials with these exotic species were oriented mainly towards rapidly growing species and those that produce lumber having multiple uses.

The BLSF maintains a stock of 80 to 120 seed lots, averaging about 50 species, the majority of which are tropical or subtropical. Fifty per cent of the species distributed around the world are exotic species acquired by direct purchase or exchange from many different countries. The other fifty per cent of the species is native material collected by the Department's personnel, mainly in Costa Rica.

This Bank is one of the main distribution centres of Central American and Mexican pines, handling about 200 kilograms annually in small packages. It also distributes seeds of various exotic or native broad-leaved species.

Seed distribution is done preferably in small lots and intended for experimental purposes. All pertinent and available information about the seeds is included in each seed package. Distribution is on a cost basis or by exchange, plus a small markup to cover handling costs.

The BLSF has a small seed laboratory where germination tests are carried out. It also has a cold storage chamber, with special equipment, in which the seeds are kept at 4°C and 20 per cent humidity.

Beginning in 1975, the BLSF's well established programme will play a key role in two additional programmes: the improvement programme of forest trees (forest genetics) and the Germplasm Bank.

The improvement programme of forest species, based on 50 years of research on improvement throughout the tropics, will lead to the next logical phase for the American tropics: the establishment of orchards for producing certified seeds. One of the most important reforestation species presently is the Honduran pine (Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis). Unfortunately, it is practically impossible to obtain seed, which sells up to $150 per kilogram. During the 1968–1974 period, more than 300 kilograms of Honduran pine seeds were distributed by the BLSF. One or several seed orchards of Honduran pine would be very useful to the tropical countries of the New World. There are other species, i.e. laurel (Cordia alliodora) or Mexican cypress (Cupressus lusitanica), that would be more useful for reforestation, if it were possible to obtain improved seed.

The Germplasm Bank of the Tropical Crops and Soils Department will be working to conserve genetic material of domesticated agricultural plants and wild plants in danger of becoming extinct. In an effort to produce better agricultural plant varieties, many genes have been eliminated, which could be most useful at a future date when further variability is desired. The objective of the Germplasm Bank is to preserve the different varieties of these plants. In reality the Bank is already functioning, since the Department of Tropical Crops and Soils already has many varieties, as living plants, of such important plants as coffee, cacao, beans, peach palm (Guilielma gasipaes) and others.”

SPECIES MOST LIKELY IN STOCK (BLSF)