Tree Seed Training

March 23, 2015

The Crawford Fund is supporting training by the CSIRO Plant Industry’s Australia Tree Seed Centre around tree seed technology and seedbank management for visitors from Vietnam, Ms Duong Thanh Hoa and Tran Thi Hanh, over the next month.

Forestry is a significant sector in Vietnam and contributes to household income and trade. The return to forest cover of some of the 42% of forested area lost up until 1995 has been a primary objective of the government. Wood processing is also a key contributor to the country’s external earnings.

The Institute for Forest Tree Improvement and Biotechnology (IFTIB) plays a key role in providing high quality improved seed of key tree species required for planting programs, and for carrying out research in support of the forestry sector.

Ms Hoa is responsible for managing the IFTIB Seed Store which includes maintaining a collection of high quality tree seed, documenting and maintaining the identity of the collection, packing and dispatch of seed and facilitating the safe and effective import and export of seed from the centre. Ms Hanh works with Ms Hoa in the seed store.

They are visiting National Research Collections Australia at CSIRO in Canberra. Some of the activities they have been involved in include setting up germination tests, laboratory work and seed collection.