CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Willow wood is appropriate to several different industrial uses, including pulp and paper, production of particleboard, veneer for plywood and furniture components. In Argentina, more than 90% of willows plantations are used for the manufacture of pulp (for newspaper) and for the particleboard industry; secondary, for sawing. In order to improve the quality of the willow plantations, for the different applications, INTA (Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria) is developing a breeding program, that has reached different phases of selection, with over 3000 genotypes in evaluation. Selection criteria include fast growth, adaptability, resistance diseases, stem form and wood quality for paper industry and sawing. To carry out the growth and wood evaluations of the willow clones in the selection process, since 2003 a technical working group has been progressively integrated, through agreements between INTA and private and public institutions: Papel Prensa SA (a company that consumes more than 60% of willow produced in the Delta of Paraná, the main core of the genus Salix production in the country) and the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (in this case, through its Wood Laboratory). The work included 1774 willow genotypes in different phases of selection, which were studied on basic wood characteristics: moisture content, basic density and bark thickening. Additionally, 100 of the more advanced clones in the selection process were studied on their wood brightness and 32 of them, on the fiber length. Also, the chemimechanical pulp of 18 clones obtained in the last selection phase were evaluated on their property for the manufacture of newspapers: tear strength, tensile strength and scattering. The results showed the supremacy of 10 clones with excellent industrial performance for newsprint, 7 of which are originated in controlled combinations: Salix matsudana x S. aba, S. matsudana x S. nigra and S. babylonica var sacramenta x S. bondpandiana and 3 genotypes from open-polinization: S. alba x?, S. matsudana and S. babylonica var sacramenta. Also, 5 of these willow clones were evaluated preliminary on their ability for sawing and highly satisfactory result were obtained. Therefore, it is expected to reach interesting material value dual purpose for the industries, which would have major positive implications for the future, with benefits for the entire production chain.

enviar mensaje