TOKYO
,
November 2, 2023
(press release)
–
Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 3863; President: Toru Nozawa; the "Company") has announced that it will participate in the 12th Japanese Society of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding Conference (hosted by the Japanese Society of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding) held at the University of Tokyo on November 10 and present the details of the development of commercial clones through selective breeding technology using genomic information (genomic selection)*1. As part of a project to promote the procurement of sustainable woody resources, the Company has worked on overseas afforestation projects for around 30 years. In particular, AMCEL*2 has developed the largest tree-planting project in the Nippon Paper Group in the state of Amapá in northern Brazil. To reduce the development time, the Company worked on a selective breeding technology (genomic selection) since 2014 that uses genomic information to predict future characteristics at the seedling stage and select excellent individual plants. In demonstration tests started in 2017, the Company developed clone's superior to main commercial clones in terms of forest accumulation*3 in just 4 years and 9 months from seeding (forest accumulation nearly equal to 11% improvement in CO2 absorption and binding efficiency*4: test data) (Photo 1). More than 100,000 seedlings were produced from the developed clones and The 12th Japanese Society of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding Conference 1. Date: Friday, November 10, 2023, afternoon 2. Host: the Japanese Society of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding 3. Location: Yayoi Auditorium, the University of Tokyo Presentation Details Title: Development of Commercial Clones Through Genomic Selection Presenter: Tomotaka Shinya (Research Laboratory, Research & Development Division, Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.) *1 Selective breeding technology using genomic information (genomic selection): a technology that selects trees by quantifying genomic information and eucalyptus traits (growth, quality, etc.) to create trait prediction model that predict future traits using big data analysis *2 AMCEL: A wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Paper Industries whose business covers the planting of trees and the production and distribution of woodchips and other materials (1) Total land holdings: Approximately 300,000 hectares (plantable area: 100,000 hectares; actual planted area: 58,000 hectares) (2) Woodchip production volume: Approximately 500,000 BDT per year *3 Forest accumulation: the volume of tree trunks that make up a forest *4 CO2 absorption and binding efficiency: the amount of CO2 absorbed and bound per unit of area *5 About technological development to improve plantation productivity (overview) https://www.nipponpapergroup.com/english/research/organize/plant.html
Nippon Paper Industries has been developing breeding technologies using AMCEL's plantation as its R&D field in recent years. The traditional breeding program for eucalyptus trees in Brazil entails multiple screening tests for more than 12 years to select eucalyptus clones for commercial use.
commercial planting of the seedlings around 100 hectares began this year (Photo 2). This is the first practical application of this technology for a eucalyptus industrial plantation globally (based on the Company's research). The details of this initiative will be introduced at this conference presentation.
The ability of forests to absorb and bind CO2 as one countermeasure against global warming has drawn attention in recent years. While the Company is working on sustainable recycling of forest resources through planned planting, nurturing, trimming, and use, the Company also aims to further improve productivity per unit of area of forest by widely expanding the use of proprietary technology*5 that has been proven effected with AMCEL. In addition to forest resource recycling, the Nippon Paper Group will contribute towards the realization of a carbon neutral society through diverse use of woody resources, active product recycling.
* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.
