Tec x Greggii Breeding Project
Based on results from the Camcore pine hybrid trials at four years of age, the hybrid between P. greggii var. australis and P. tecunumanii (high elevation) has shown excellent growth and adaptation in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay. Some advantages of this hybrid include frost resistance acquired from the P. greggii, tolerance to Fusarium circinatum from the P. tecunumanii, and superior wood and pulp properties coming from both species. Because of these multiple advantages and great potential, some Camcore members from Latin America made the decision at the 2015 Camcore annual meeting in Texas to start a cooperative breeding program with this hybrid.
Logistical and biological reasons led to a decision to develop the project using the reciprocal hybrid: P. tecunumanii x P. greggii. The objectives of this breeding project are the same as those of the P. patula x P. tecunumanii project in South Africa. The goal is to obtain 250 full-sib families made using 50 female trees in a P. tecunumanii clonal seed orchard at Smurfit Kappa Colombia with pollen collected from 44 selected trees of P. greggii by Camcore.