Service 02
Applied research and technology development
Projects defined from field problems in plant pathology and forest disease resistance. Trials are conducted in the laboratory, nursery, greenhouse and field, and the results are validated in plantation areas.
Eucalyptus productivity
Stagnation of eucalyptus productivity in Brazil
Between the 1960s and the 2010s, genetic improvement and silviculture quadrupled the mean annual increment of planted forests in Brazil. After 2010, productivity declined and leveled off below the peak.
- Loss factors: climate, pests, weeds, silvicultural practices and diseases reduce the productivity achieved in the stand.
- Genetic control: disease is the factor that breeding reduces through resistant clones, regardless of the conditions in a given year.
- Specific problems: the remaining bottlenecks are biological and vary with region, clone and pathogen, which calls for research directed at each case.
From the laboratory to the field
Experimental scale of each stage
The project starts under controlled conditions in the laboratory and ends with validation of the result in the stand.
Diagnosis and characterization
Identification of the pathogen and of the origin and aggressiveness of the isolates. Answers: what the causal agent is.
Standardized material
Plantlets of the clones and controls, produced under phytosanitary control. Answers: which material the trial is conducted with.
Controlled trials
Inoculation and assessment with host, pathogen and favorable environment under control. Answers: which clones are resistant, and to what degree.
Validation in plantation areas
Trials conducted under the region's climate and natural inoculum. Answers: whether the result holds in the stand.
Project stages
From field problem to technology transfer
Problem
The company's team describes the occurrence in the field: symptom, region, affected clones and history.
First conversation with the technical teamDiagnosis and hypothesis
Review of the available knowledge and definition of the hypotheses to be tested.
Review of the literature and of the historyWork plan
Objectives, trials, schedule, deliverables and team. Eligibility for funding is assessed for each project.
Intellectual property set out in the contractExecution
Trials at the required scales, with interim reports and follow-up meetings.
Reports per stageValidated result
Final report, technical recommendation and transfer to the client's team.
Team training, when neededPartnerships and funding
Triple-helix research
A forestry company, a university and a funding agency take part in the same project: the company brings the field problem, the university contributes the method and the funding can be shared.
Universities
UFV in Brazil; cooperation with universities in New Zealand and the United States, as reported in Clonar's news.
CNPq
Brazil's National Council for Scientific and Technological Development: federal funding for research and researcher training.
Fapemig
Research funding in Minas Gerais. Clonar research was selected for a Fapemig event in 2017.
Embrapii and BNDES
Co-funding of innovation projects between companies and research institutions, and support lines for larger projects.
The funding arrangement suited to each project is assessed in the proposal.
History
Clonar projects reported in the news in 2017 and 2018
Next step
Project proposal for field problems
Describe the occurrence in the field. The first conversation is technical and is meant to understand the problem before a project proposal is prepared.
or write to comercialclonar@gmail.com