2019

LVM Nurseries Grow the Valuable Future Forest

With the arrival of the vegetation period, employees of JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) start active work. Although the territory of Latvia is not so large, reforestation works in different regions of the country start with a difference of a couple of weeks. It is planned to plant a forest area of 9 000 hectares in 2019 using 26.7 million tree seedlings grown in the company's modern nurseries.

This year, 14 million pine-tree container seedlings, 2.7 million spruce container seedlings, 5 million spruce seedlings with an improved root system, 2.2 million birch seedlings with an improved root system, as well as 0.4 million black alder seedlings with an improved root system will be planted in the forests managed by LVM.

Despite the wet autumn of 2017 and the dry summer of 2018, LVM Sēklas un stādi (LVM Seeds and Plants) sold 52.3 million forest plants last year, of which 49.3 million seedlings were container seedlings and bare root plants with an improved root system. Compared to 2001, this figure has increased 3.6 times. 14.7 million plants were sold in 2001.

“In plant production, it is important to develop technologies with higher productivity, for example, we are currently cultivating container seedlings in one year; previously they were grown as pine bare root seedlings over a period of two years. It takes to years to grow spruce bare root seedlings with an improved root system; they were previously grown over a period of four years. Technological solutions have significantly reduced seed consumption and the number of seedless and dead seedlings. This is a huge milestone in planting, which also helps to respond to changes in plant demand for different species, if needed,” says Laima Zvejniece, Managing Director of LVM Sēklas un stādi.

“The production of forest seedlings has grown from small planting beds in the forest to the most state-of-the-art equipment and mechanisms in the world. The forest nursery industry is so specific that there are no two identical nurseries to be found around the world; each is searching for its own technical and technological solutions, individual solutions to increase the nursery productivity and other solutions that are suitable for the particular place,” says Laima Zvejniece.

The state-of-the-art LVM Mazsili, Podiņi and Strenči nurseries make various improvements by creating new or upgrading the existing production lines, carrying out expansion works and building plant storage facilities - freezers. Plant protection products are used to protect young conifers from forest pests, such as the large pine weevil. More and more seedlings are treated with environmentally friendly, alternative methods such as wax and Conniflex mixture of glue and sand, and new, alternative remedies are sought and tested.

The plant quality and productivity depend on the quality of seeds. In cooperation with the Forest Research Institute “Silava”, extensive research has been carried out within the framework of the forest breeding programme, and these studies still continue. “Over the past 10 years, pine planting material has been grown from excellent seed plantation material; 60.1% of seedlings of the category “superior”, and 39.6% of the category “improved” were sold in 2018. This allows forest owners to increase their forest value by up to 25% and sometimes even more. Of course, forest cultivation, care and protection are no less important,” says Laima Zvejniece.

Kvalitatīva un augstražīga stāda pamatā ir sēkla. Sadarbībā ar mežzinātnes institūtu “Silava” meža selekcijas programmas ietvaros ir daudz paveikts un pētījumi arvien turpinās. “Pēdējo 10 gadu laikā priedes stādmateriāls izaudzēts praktiski no izcila sēklu plantāciju materiāla, turklāt 2018. gadā realizēti 60,1% stādi ar kategoriju “pārāks”, 39,6 % ­­- ar kategoriju “uzlabots “. Tas dod iespēju meža īpašniekiem sava meža vērtību palielināt līdz 25 % un reizēm pat vairāk. Protams, nav mazsvarīga tālāka meža audzēšana, kopšana un aizsargāšana,” norāda Laima Zvejniece.

LVM Sēklas un stādi nurseries, increasing the amount of plants each year, reached their production “ceiling” in 2018, i.e. line capacity, land area, freezer capacity and water resources were used at their maximum.

Based on the growth of the market demand, it was decided to invest knowledge and resources in raising the value of the selected forest and, to build and develop another, completely new nursery in Latvia within the framework of the investment project. “This is the right time to do it. We have done a lot: we are known in the Baltics and Scandinavia, thanks to the high quality forest plants,” says Laima Zvejniece, Managing Director of LVM Sēklas un stādi