Asexual Propagation of Oak Hybrids: Our Progress, and the Challenges of Producing Clonal Plants

Nina L. Bassuk, Bryan R. Denig, and Miles Schwartz Sax

Published May 2016 International Oaks No. 27: 99–106

Abstract

One research focus of the Urban Horticulture Institute (UHI) at Cornell University involves the selection, evaluation, and propagation of superior plants for urban environments. In an effort to develop oaks suitable for urbanized environments, the UHI developed approximately 345 genotypes of hybrid oaks, consisting of approximately 55 unique crosses of over 40 diverse parent species in 2004-2006. These diverse hybrids have the promise of increased vigor and better adaptation to urban stresses such as alkaline soil, flooding, drought, and pests. Since 2004, we have been working on propagating, evaluating, and selecting from these hybrids superior oaks for urban landscapes. The ultimate goal of this long-term project is to introduce these superior hybrid oak selections into the nursery trade as named cultivars. A reliable asexual propagation method for oaks is crucial for meeting our goals, and the UHI has been pursuing such a method for almost 20 years. We have been successful in utilizing a modified stool bed layering technique, but the yield is too low for commercial applications. To overcome this challenge, tissue culture techniques are currently being developed as a means of rapid multiplication of large numbers of clonally propagated hybrid oaks.

Keywords

propagation, asexual, tissue culture, urban, stool bed layering

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