Notice

Tree Production Innovation Fund: successful projects 2023

Published 9 November 2023

Applies to England

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Scotland
• Publication for Wales

Applicant: University of Nottingham 

Project title: Increasing drought tolerance in elder 

Project summary

Improving growth and drought tolerance in elder propagation and establishment using abiotic stress priming. The project will make use of innovative knowledge from crop species to apply stress priming at seed and hardwood cutting propagation stages.

Applicant: The Woodland Trust 

Project title: Growing Diversity 

Credit: Aaron Benson

Project summary

The Woodland Trust and The Fellowship of the Tree CIC are partnering with Community Tree Nurseries (CTNs) within England to identify provenance zones in which there is little or no seed collection and map areas in which hard-to-source native species grow.

The project will identify barriers for CTNs and develop a plan to overcome them by providing support to deliver training sessions and resources on seed collections, propagation, hard-to-grow species, and biosecurity.

The Conifer Breeding Co-op 

Project title: Scots pine for England - Reinvigorating the Scots pine breeding programme with a Southern bias 

Project summary

This project aims to assemble the foundational breeding resources to create Scots pine (SP) Forest Reproductive Material (FRM) specifically tailored to the needs of English Forestry. The project will result in increased knowledge on breeding values and genetic diversity for the species as a whole.

The Conifer Breeding Co-op 

Project title: Climate matching and resilience trial in SS – future proofing productive forestry in England 

Project summary

The Conifer Breeding Coop aims to establish a large-scale field trial of 100 improved Sitka Spruce (SS) families to:

1. directly identify responses to climate, pests, and diseases
2. allow resilient breeding lines to be identified for rapid diversification of Forest Reproductive Materials
3. allow recommendations to be made on breeding lines for regional conditions, especially drier sites in England

Betley Court Ltd 

Project title: BioPeat - Peat Free Growing Media system from Sewage Biomass 

Project summary

Development of a self-supporting growing media system based on sewage sludge to eliminate peat use and allow enhanced automation in forest nurseries.

University of Warwick 

Project title: Autonomous Smart Spot-Precision Application of Herbicide: ASPA 

Project summary

Development of an autonomous weed control AI-based robot for smart spot-precision application of herbicide. The project aims to reduce reliance on synthetic chemicals by more than 90%, contributing to a more sustainable environment and better farming practices.  The project will develop two AI models and a robotic platform for weed elimination.  

Earth Rover Ltd 

Project title: Herbicide Free Weed Control for Tree Production 

Project summary

This project seeks to build an autonomous agri-robot prototype based on Earth Rover CLAWS (Concentrated Light Autonomous Weeding and Scouting). This technology is currently under development for controlling weeds using AI and concentrated light in Brassica crops. The project will acquire on-farm data, and train AI algorithms specifically for tree and hedge seedlings. The effectiveness of weed control will be verified through field trials. 

Earth Rover CLAWS (Concentrated Light Autonomous Weeding and Scouting) weeding

Bangor University 

Project title: Development of Regenerative Tree Nursery Practice 

Project summary

Investigation of composted municipal green waste as an alternative to peat-based growing media to address perceived issues in compost quality and consistency, and to increase the sustainability of tree nurseries.

This project aims to determine if green waste compost can be used with mycorrhizal inoculation and probiotic enrichment to produce healthy and resilient saplings through increased functionality of soil microbiota and the suppression of soil borne pathogens. 

RSK ADAS Ltd 

Project title: eWeeding for liverwort control in containerized propagation systems 

Project summary

A proof-of-concept study for the use of electric weeding (eWeeding) for non-chemical liverwort weed control in containerised tree nurseries as part of an integrated weed management strategy.

The treatment parameters will be explored through replicated randomized trials to find an optimal treatment regime that kills weeds and minimizes regrowth. A nursery trial will test the technology in an industry setting. 

Lancaster University 

Project title: Priming tree seed for enhanced germination and stress resilience 

Project summary

This project aims to demonstrate how new and established seed treatment technologies can be used to improve tree seed germination rates and sapling resilience to climate change related stress. Lancaster University will test the ability of both jasmonic acid seed treatment and light-based seed priming approaches to enhance germination across a range of commercially valuable UK tree species. 

Elsoms Seeds Ltd 

Project title: Development of Seed Enhancement techniques for successful establishment of valuable tree seed stocks. 

Project summary

The aim of this project is to develop and trial a novel seed enhancement technique based on non-thermal gas plasma technology for improving seed germination, establishment, and quality in tree seedling production.

This project combines scientific expertise from Loughborough University and Zayndu Ltd along with the seed industry knowledge and commercial application of Elsoms Seeds and Elsoms Trees. 

Elsoms Seeds

Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew 

Project title: Plasma and phenotyping technologies for improved seed quality for tree production 

Project summary

This project will use high-throughput 3D X-ray phenotyping to assess the effects of innovative plasma-based methods for breaking seed dormancy and improving germination and storage of six UK native tree species.  The project will result in improved knowledge of dormancy mechanisms and germination requirements of tree seed to enable improved propagation of trees from seeds.