Seed production

The goal of seed production is to produce high-quality, tree seed to support the Ministry of Forests’ priorities including:

• Economic benefit and resilience for all people of British Columbia
• Sustainable forest stewardship
• Proactive and collaborative natural hazard management

This is done through the planning, administration and management of seed orchards to meet reforestation needs and objectives which are directed by the Chief Forester’s Standards.

Several classes of tree seed are recognized in the Chief Forester’s Standards:

• Orchard-sourced seed from selective breeding programs. This seed has desirable traits such as increased growth, wood quality, or pest or disease resistance. This type of seed is often referred to as “A Class” Seed
• Seed that is collected from wild stand sources from within B.C., often referred to as “B Class” seed
• Seed is from superior provenance wild stands collected within B.C., commonly referred to as “B+ Class” seed

The Chief Forester’s Standards require the use of “A-Class” seed where it is available and appropriate.  Use of this orchard seed can increase forest resiliency, improve reliability of wood fibre production, and support sustainable forest stewardship.

The seed production program includes most of the commercial tree species in the province:

• Coastal species - coastal Douglas-fir, western redcedar, western hemlock, white pine and yellow cypress
• Interior species - interior Douglas-fir, interior spruce, lodgepole pine, white pine, western larch and Ponderosa pine

A seed orchard is a key element in a successful tree improvement program. Provincial government seed orchards were established in the early 1960’s. Current orchards in production include programs that are in 2^nd and even 3^rd generation of parental selections.

Seed production in B.C. happens in both private and government-owned seed orchards. Currently, Forest Improvement and Research Management Branch manages 41 seed orchards, located at six locations throughout the province. These orchards supply seed for 16 different tree species which are deployed across the province to areas that are climatically suitable for each orchard. This ensures that seedlings are genetically suitable for the climate and ecological conditions of the area in which they are planted.

Forest Improvement and Research Management Branch is not involved in any genetic engineering, gene insertion, gene splicing or biotechnology that results in genetically modified organisms. In keeping with the Government’s broad stewardship responsibilities for Crown land, Forest Improvement and Research Management Branch has ensured that no genetically modified tree seed has been registered or used in operational forest planting on Crown land in British Columbia.