Vegetative Propagation Offers a Fast Route to Superior Teak Seedlings for Community Forests

Image: article cover, from Adinugraha and Mahfudz (2014), Jurnal Wasian, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Demand for teak (Tectona grandis) timber in Indonesia continues to rise, yet production from industrial timber plantations has not been able to meet it. Community forests offer an alternative source of this timber. A research team from the Centre for Forest Biotechnology and Tree Improvement Research in Yogyakarta, Hamdan Adma Adinugraha and Mahfudz, therefore examined vegetative propagation techniques for teak in community forests. The findings were published in the Journal Wasian in 2014.

According to this research, providing superior seedlings from superior seed takes time, as it requires waiting for selection in progeny test plots. Vegetative propagation is seen as a solution that can be applied immediately. The stages begin with the selection of good mother trees, or superior trees, the collection of vegetative plant material, the making of grafts, the establishment of a hedge orchard, and finally the mass production of seedlings through shoot cuttings or tissue culture. Clone testing is then expected to produce superior clones that are adaptive at development sites and more productive.

For communities living around forests, this approach opens up the opportunity to obtain high-quality teak seedlings without a long wait. For community forests, superior seedlings mean timber productivity can be increased, strengthening their role as a supplier of teak timber.

Source and how to cite

This story is based on the research article Pengembangan Teknik Perbanyakan Vegetatif Tanaman Jati Pada Hutan Rakyat by Hamdan Adma Adinugraha and Mahfudz Mahfudz, published in Jurnal Wasian Vol. 1 No. 1 (2014). The full article is free to read on the Jurnal Wasian website.

Cite the original article (APA 7):

Adinugraha, H. A., & Mahfudz, M. (2014). Pengembangan Teknik Perbanyakan Vegetatif Tanaman Jati Pada Hutan Rakyat. Jurnal Wasian, 1(1), 39–44. https://doi.org/10.62142/3xnt5110

If you use these findings in coursework, a thesis or other writing, cite the original article above, not this news story. The original article is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.