About 180 kilos of seeds of native species of interest to the region are collected per month through Itaipu’s Environmental Action Division. They are used for the production of seedlings in the Binacional Forest Nursery that are used for reforestation projects.
Jonathan Florentín, in charge of the Forest Nursery of the entity, explained that a phenological study is carried out, prior to the collection of seeds, in order to determine the season of each species. Seed trees are selected taking into account different characteristics of the tree. Each one is marked, a georeference is made and later the growth process of the seed tree is monitored, from flowering to the formation of fruits and seeds.
“Once the monitoring is done, we analyze when the seeds can be collected, because each species has a different fruiting time. There are marked trees throughout the area of influence and the amount of seeds collected during the year depends a lot on weather conditions”, he commented.
Andresa Aranda, one of those in charge of the seed sector, said that one of the most important processes is the cleaning of fruits collected for the extraction of seeds and pointed out that this work varies in each species. For example, some fruits require prior washing, as is the case with native fruit trees. Others are exposed to the sun immediately after harvesting, as is the case with samu’u fruits.
“Some seeds that are washed first are the guabirá and the ñandypa. After cleaning, drying is carried out. The species that do not require washing are the pindo, the palm trees, the grapefruit, the lemon, among others. Seeds that will not be used immediately are stored at an adequate temperature for their conservation”, he pointed out.
The Itaipú nursery has approximately 90 species, of which 67 are native. Among them are ñandypa, ñangapiry, palm tree, coconut, guava, aratiku, guajaybi, red guavira and molle’i.
About 180 kilos of seeds are collected per month during Itaipu’s environmental program.
With the production of seedlings, Itaipu ratifies its socio-environmental commitment to preserve native species, since these are mainly destined for ecological restoration programs and floristic recomposition of the Entity’s area of influence. In addition, several seedlings are used in educational programs developed by the binational in favor of the general public.
