10. SEEDS

10.2 Seed provenances

Indigenous trees growing in a particular area have become adapted to the conditions in that area over a very long period of time. Trees of the same species growing in different areas may be slightly different from each other from the genetic point of view. These genetic differences are, of course, reflected in the seed. Foresters call these different types of the same species "provenances".

The choice of seed from good provenances may be as important as the choice of good species. But for most agroforestry tree species there is no information about which are the good provenances, so it is best to use seed from the area where the seedlings are to be planted or the seeds sown. This recommendation is mainly valid for indigenous trees.

Exotic trees have been introduced very recently in genetic terms, so significant local adaptation to site conditions in Kenya has not yet taken place. Commercial species, mainly the ones used in forestry plantations, have, however, been subject to research for a long period and central institutions such as the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) can supply seeds of particularly good provenances of a few of those species.