Research and development of acacia hybrids for commercial planting in Vietnam

Abstract

“Acacia hybrids” refers to the inter-specific hybrids of A. mangium and A. auriculiformis, including natural, artificial and polyploid ones. The superiorities of selected acacia hybrid are fast growth, straight stem form, small branches, high productivity, and high ratio of wood utilisation. Acacia hybrids are recognized as having a higher pulping potential and greater soil improvement ability than that of the parental species, which may be shown to have 2.5-13 times larger numbers of nitrogen - fixing nodules on its roots in nursery stage. Mass propagation technology using both cutting and tissue culture has been successfully developed for acacia hybrid, enabling large-scale clonal forestry to improve plantation productivity and quality. The area of acacia hybrid plantations up to 2016 was estimated to be 500,000 ha, with an annual increase of 30,000-35,000 ha, making it the most widely planted forest tree variety in Vietnam. Acacia hybrids and propagation technologies have also been introduced in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. The research and development of acacia hybrid breeding can be considered as a revolution in the forestry sector and has created new and advanced approaches for both research and training in tree breeding in Vietnam.

Keywords

• Acacia auriculiformis
• Acacia hybrid
• Acacia mangium
• cutting propagation
• nodules
• tissue culture