Section 5. Strategy and Techniques

This section provides essential information for the implementation of tree domestication. It starts with the presentation of wise strategies for the management of the genetic resource of a species being domesticated by clonal or tree breeding. This includes strategies for the management of the wild resource and gene banks for germplasm conservation; strategies for the use of vegetative propagation; and strategies for clonal selection. These then lead to the wise management of the selection population and the production population.

This is followed by detailed information on the techniques of vegetative propagation using leafy single-node stem cuttings from juvenile stockplants in low-technology, nonmist propagators that don’t require electricity or running water, as well as by the marcotting (air layering) of shoots from the crowns of mature trees. Of special importance for maximization of rooting success is the preseverance management of the stockplant’s environment, particularly the interactions between light (quantity and quality) and nutrition.

Finally, studies to characterize, quantify, and understand the extent of the intraspecific (tree-to-tree) variation in numerous different morphological and other traits at the village scale are presented. This information facilitates the selection of elite trees for cultivar development. It also informs the selection process about the opportunities to meet the specific needs of different markets and potential new industries in the form of an “ideotype” that presents the ideal combination of multiple traits.

These techniques are now being used in increasingly diverse sets of species for food and nonfood products with potential as new crops and new industries.