Chile

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C H I L E

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I visited Chile from May 30 to June 6, 1998. The visit was at the request of Dr. Claudio Balocchi of Bioforest SA. I took part in their yearly tour of various research sites and nurseries. It was a wonderful trip that had me landing in Santiago near the center of Chile and took me as far south as Valdivia. If you look on a globe you will notice that Chile is the longest and narrowest country in the world extending from parallel 18 degrees S to 56 degrees S. The time change from Oregon at the time of my visit was three hours later or the same time zone as Miami, Florida! My flight path took me from Eugene, OR to San Francisco, CA to Miami, FL to Santiago, Chile. I left Eugene at ~11 AM and arrived in Santiago at 7:30 AM the next day.
Chile has been undergoing a massive reforestation program for a good many years now. The primary species that they plant are Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus globulus. Radiata can be seen everywhere as you head south from Santiago. The radiata belt pretty much ends as the climate gets colder way to the south. Please note that we in Oregon are 'upside down' ... with their southern region equivalent to our northern region.
Below are some photographs from the trip. The tour began in Constitucion and ended in Valdivia. The nurseries were huge. The plantations were huge. They take their forest research in Chile very seriously and the results are clearly paying dividends.

See the current time in Chile!

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CL4#14 Picture CL4 #14 Santiago Airport.
I've paid my $45 entry fee and I am 'in country'. The minute you get into a country it is a very good idea to exchange some of your money. Airports are not the best places for favorable exchange rates, but it is not smart to be running around with no pesos.

CL3#11
CL3#11 CL3 #11 Field planting.
A planter can get around 500 seedlings planted in a day. They don't usually use a stick to get their spacing coffect, but on this planting job they were.

CL3#7 CL3#7 Field planting.
Note that the planter carries his seedlings around in a container. We use planter bags strapped to the waist. The idea has not caught on in Chile.

CL3#8 CL3#8 Field planting.
Here they are precisely measuring where each seedling will go. The result is perfect rows of seedlings. While row planting is not practiced in the Pacific Northwest, row planting is commonly done in other parts of the world and the Southeastern U.S.

CL3#1 CL3#1 Stool bed.
A large portion of the seedlings for planting come from cuttings taken from stool beds that look like this. Seedlings are planted at wide spacings, allowed to grow, and cuttings are repeatedly taken from the seedlings each year for transplanting. Radiata is so 'weed' like that its cuttings will grow after being placed in soft earth in about 4 months. Yes, radiata is also grown from seed, but cuttings allows for the planting of genetically superior stock. The best clones are used in the stool beds, which become the seedlings, which become the plantations.

CL3#14 CL3#14 Greenhouse.
These are cuttings from superior clones being started in pots. They will take cuttings from even these small seedlngs in order to expand production. Superior clones are also started in tissue culture plates as well... and also end up in pots like this.

CL3#30 CL3#30 Cuttings.
These were picked only a few minutes prior to this picture. As soon as they are cut from the stool plants they are stuck in the ground.

CL3#26 CL3#26 Frame.
This frame is used to put holes in the beds. The cuttings are placed in the holes.

CL3#29 CL3#29 Transplanting cuttings.
No hormones, no dips, no "nothing"... just stick the cutting into the ground and in 4 months you have roots. There are not many species that can do this. Thus, radiata is like a 'weed'.

CL3#17 CL3#17 Seedling from a cutting.
Note the flat root system. The roots do not always head straight down as is common when the seedling starts from seed. With root culturing the shape of the root system can likely be improved.

CL3#24 CL3#24 Douglas-fir seedlings.
These are plug transplants. 'Doug-fir'grows real well in parts of Chile. The stock looked pretty good.

CL2#3 CL2#3 Container seedlings.
They have millions of these things. Mllions and millions.

CL2#9 CL2#9 Container seedlings.
Note the root systems. Vigorous and loaded with mycorrhizae.

CL2#6 CL2#6. Extraction.
Removing seedlings from the containers is quite a chore. One person can do around 4,000 per day. The seedlings are planted within two days after extraction. Our system is not much different.

CL2#21 CL2#21 Eucalyptus globulus.
This species is planted widely.

CL2#23 CL2#23 What is this?
This is a hole made in a very hot composting bark pile. Stick your hand in there too far and the heat will burn it off! The temperature gets to ~65C. They do not use peat for their growing media, They use radiata bark. First, they compost it, then they sieve it, and then they put it in the containers.

CL6#35 CL6#35 The end product.
This is a huge study using different genetically superior clones. These seedlings are (I think) only two years old and will soon reach tremendous heights.

CL6#36 CL6#36 Superior radiata.
Eduardo Rodriguez stands next to one of the biggest of the best in this huge genetic study being conducted by Bioforest SA. He is standing back from the seedling for fear it will hit him in the head!... just kidding. But, they do grow fast.

CL1#17 CL1#17
Thanks to Dr. Claudio Balocchi (NC State'89) of Bioforest SA for having me down and taking care of all the arrangements. It was great fun.

CL7#19 CL7#19
And, we bid farewell to Chile and the magnificent Andes covered in snow.

Top Global Extension Forestry NTC Homepage Chile Facts

CL4#14	Picture CL4 #14 Santiago Airport. I've paid my $45 entry fee and I am 'in country'. The minute you get into a country it is a very good idea to exchange some of your money. Airports are not the best places for favorable exchange rates, but it is not smart to be running around with no pesos.
CL3#11	CL3 #11 Field planting. A planter can get around 500 seedlings planted in a day. They don't usually use a stick to get their spacing coffect, but on this planting job they were.
CL3#7	CL3#7 Field planting. Note that the planter carries his seedlings around in a container. We use planter bags strapped to the waist. The idea has not caught on in Chile.
CL3#8	CL3#8 Field planting. Here they are precisely measuring where each seedling will go. The result is perfect rows of seedlings. While row planting is not practiced in the Pacific Northwest, row planting is commonly done in other parts of the world and the Southeastern U.S.
CL3#1	CL3#1 Stool bed. A large portion of the seedlings for planting come from cuttings taken from stool beds that look like this. Seedlings are planted at wide spacings, allowed to grow, and cuttings are repeatedly taken from the seedlings each year for transplanting. Radiata is so 'weed' like that its cuttings will grow after being placed in soft earth in about 4 months. Yes, radiata is also grown from seed, but cuttings allows for the planting of genetically superior stock. The best clones are used in the stool beds, which become the seedlings, which become the plantations.
CL3#14	CL3#14 Greenhouse. These are cuttings from superior clones being started in pots. They will take cuttings from even these small seedlngs in order to expand production. Superior clones are also started in tissue culture plates as well... and also end up in pots like this.
CL3#30	CL3#30 Cuttings. These were picked only a few minutes prior to this picture. As soon as they are cut from the stool plants they are stuck in the ground.
CL3#26	CL3#26 Frame. This frame is used to put holes in the beds. The cuttings are placed in the holes.
CL3#29	CL3#29 Transplanting cuttings. No hormones, no dips, no "nothing"... just stick the cutting into the ground and in 4 months you have roots. There are not many species that can do this. Thus, radiata is like a 'weed'.
CL3#17	CL3#17 Seedling from a cutting. Note the flat root system. The roots do not always head straight down as is common when the seedling starts from seed. With root culturing the shape of the root system can likely be improved.
CL3#24	CL3#24 Douglas-fir seedlings. These are plug transplants. 'Doug-fir'grows real well in parts of Chile. The stock looked pretty good.
CL2#3	CL2#3 Container seedlings. They have millions of these things. Mllions and millions.
CL2#9	CL2#9 Container seedlings. Note the root systems. Vigorous and loaded with mycorrhizae.
CL2#6	CL2#6. Extraction. Removing seedlings from the containers is quite a chore. One person can do around 4,000 per day. The seedlings are planted within two days after extraction. Our system is not much different.
CL2#21	CL2#21 Eucalyptus globulus. This species is planted widely.
CL2#23	CL2#23 What is this? This is a hole made in a very hot composting bark pile. Stick your hand in there too far and the heat will burn it off! The temperature gets to ~65C. They do not use peat for their growing media, They use radiata bark. First, they compost it, then they sieve it, and then they put it in the containers.
CL6#35	CL6#35 The end product. This is a huge study using different genetically superior clones. These seedlings are (I think) only two years old and will soon reach tremendous heights.
CL6#36	CL6#36 Superior radiata. Eduardo Rodriguez stands next to one of the biggest of the best in this huge genetic study being conducted by Bioforest SA. He is standing back from the seedling for fear it will hit him in the head!... just kidding. But, they do grow fast.
CL1#17	CL1#17 Thanks to Dr. Claudio Balocchi (NC State'89) of Bioforest SA for having me down and taking care of all the arrangements. It was great fun.
CL7#19	CL7#19 And, we bid farewell to Chile and the magnificent Andes covered in snow.