The design capacity is up to 10 million seedlings per year.

 

The plant will provide the best planting material for the north and south of the country.

 

The center will also include Ukraine’s largest seed bank, with a reserve for growing over 100 million seedlings.

 

In the Chernihiv region, near the M-01 “Kyiv-Chernihiv” highway in the Horbachivskyi forestry, the most powerful and modern center in Ukraine for growing planting material with a closed root system (CRS) will soon begin operations.

 

Traditionally, tree seedlings were grown in nurseries. During the forest-culture campaign, they are moved to a plot in the forest and planted.

 

However, due to climate change, Europeans have already switched to more modern technology—CRS seedlings, which are grown in seed centers. They are more resilient, establish themselves better, and grow faster.

 

SE “Forests of Ukraine” is also currently investing in developing a network of such seed centers. The new plant in the Chernihiv region is practically on par with the best European ones.

 

CRS seedlings are sown on a special line. The seeds are placed in cassettes with nutrient-rich soil.

 

Almost all processes are automated—only 10 people are needed for the work.

 

But before reaching the sowing line, the seeds undergo a thorough selection process. The center includes a special workshop equipped with a cone dryer and other modern equipment from leading manufacturers.

 

In the future, there will be 5 drying cabinets here, which will process 400 kg of cones per day!

 

Seeds must meet strict requirements, so a significant portion of the collected material may be rejected.

 

The center also has its own seed bank. Some tree species produce quality seeds only once every 5-7 years. Therefore, in Europe, seed banks have a reserve for 10-15 years. Now, Ukraine will also have a strategic seed reserve. The center will store seeds of pine, oak, spruce, larch, and other tree species.

 

The sowing line starts operating in the spring to allow the seedlings to grow and strengthen during the warm season. In the autumn, the plants can already be planted in open ground. However, some seedlings will overwinter in cassettes and will be planted only in the spring.

 

To prevent the seedlings from dying in winter due to temperature fluctuations, the center is equipped with huge refrigerators. Here, the plants will wait for spring planting at an optimal temperature. The refrigerators will store 2 million seedlings simultaneously.

 

Next to the main workshop are huge grow-out fields and greenhouses. An automated irrigation system ensures ideal conditions for the plants’ development during their first year of life.

 

This year, SE “Forests of Ukraine” is completing the President’s program. We will plant the promised billion trees. CRS seedlings are also actively used in implementing the program.

 

Their advantage is a much better survival rate, the ability to extend the duration of the forest-culture campaign, and lower labor costs during planting.

 

When a regular seedling is dug up from a nursery, its roots are exposed. Such a plant dries out and gets damaged during transportation.

 

CRS seedlings are moved in their cassettes. They take root faster and have significantly greater growth energy. Planting them is simpler.

 

CRS seedlings will much more quickly transform into a forested area, allowing foresters to save on tending the plantations. Considering the better survival rate and all other factors, the new technology is more economically viable than the traditional one.

 

In total, 10 such centers will be operating in Ukraine in the near future. The plan is to reach a total production capacity of up to 70 million seedlings per year.

 

Some of the products may be exported, as the cost of producing Ukrainian seedlings is competitive on the European market.

 

However, the main goal is the restoration of Ukrainian forests, primarily in frontline and de-occupied territories.