From:John Roche [
Sent:09 September 2015 10:33
To:Forest Reproductive Material
Subject:Forest Reproductive Material Consultation
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to make the following observations regarding the proposed removal of Improved
QCI sitka from the approved species list after the 2017-2018 planting season.
I have been working as a forester in the southern region of the country since 1994 and in
that time I have generally favoured Washington as the provenance when planting sitka. In
most cases this proved to be the correct choice as much of my area of operation does not
have a significant frost risk.
In recent years I have began to use improved QCI where available, and my experience of this
is that it out-performs unimproved Washington in practically all cases. It has more uniform
growth rates and is easier to establish.
I have had a number of cases where I have had serious difficulty in establishing a crop of
Washington provenance sitka. This has occurred in localised frost hollows within a site. My
experience in these cases is that Washington should be avoided where frost is likely to be an
issue, and improved QCI is a much better option.
I would also have concerns about the future quality of a crop that suffered some frost
damage at an earlier stage in its development. When thinning sites at the moment we are
experiencing a lot of crooked lengths, resulting in a higher percentage of pulp than
predicted. Many of these sites were planted by me in the late 1990’s with Washington
provenancesitka, and I believe that the choice of provenance, along with a late spring frost
in many the early years of these crops establishment, have resulted in a poorer crop than
would be the case if I had chosen QCI.
In summary I believe that it is important that we have the option of choosing the
provenance that we believe is most suited to the site, or portion of a site. I am very happy
with the results that I am currently achieving using improved QCI and I believe that this
option should remain.
Regards,
John Roche,
Managing Director,
The Forestry Company,
East Park House,
Marina Commercial Park,
Cork.
t: 021 4322870
m: 087 2674725
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