Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia With a population of 1.200.000 in 2008 it is the eight most populous city of Russia. Kazan has a humid continental climate with long cold winters and warm dry summers.

PUM Netherlands Senior Experts received a request for advice to consult about the technologies of planting and cultivating of different breeds of coniferous trees. Large plant volumes are traditionally produced on open ground. The main tree species are Siberian variants of pine, spruce, and larch. The future seed supply comes from phenotypes. Forest genetics is the basis for conservation, maintenance, and management of healthy forest ecosystems; and for development of programs which breed high-yielding varieties of commercially important tree species.

The social value of green space is expressed by the fact that people feel better and healthier in green surroundings. People tend to spend more time here, which has a positive influence on behaviour. Trees also provide shade, and help absorb or retain particulates and harmful gasses with their foliage and needles. Because of the long and cold winters in Kazan people prefer to plant coniferous trees as Picea pungens instead of deciduous trees.

In Kazan the company has discovered a commercial market or delivery and installation of large trees. Therefore they invested in tree transplanter machines. The tree transplanter is positioned in an up-right position with blades raised; and gate in an open position from centrally located hydraulic valve bank. The spoon shaped blades are inserted into the ground along a curvilinear track forming a totally enclosed pod of roots and soil. After the tree is raised vertically from the ground the tree is tilted into a horizontal position. The stabilizers are raised and the tree is ready for transporting to its new location.

There is a great demand for large trees from Moscow and Kazan area. As the construction and other sectors are booming there is structural lack of large transportable trees to decorate the new construction sites. The art of tree replanting is controlled. But the growing site where the trees are replanted is very often made up of pure sand. It is mainly black soil which is added into the planting hole, creating the flowerpot effect. Plans are being made to grow solitary grown trees in large sizes in nurseries. The trees are being collected from all over the area which means long travelling distances.

In Tatarstan there is a professional cultivation of Christmas trees. The State Forestry auctioned pieces, fir and pine trees, and tons of pine twigs for large amounts. Almost all of them are grown of special plantations of forest nurseries. Harvesting of living trees is under strict control of State Forest Inspectors. It will take place in December during operation "Spruce" . The company has plans to start-up with a Christmas tree nursery on a large scale. There is about 800hectare of good formal agricultural land available.

Trees in plugs are grown so that the root system is kept complete. Bare root trees have a large proportion of their root mass left at the nursery, because the roots have been damaged just before they are sent to the site. Plug cultivation can grow in a shorter period, there is less failures an even growth. There are better possibilities for automation and plugs, are easy to process all year, which makes it easy to organise the work spread all through over the year.

PUM expert advised the client company to send a representative to the Netherlands for the purpose of establishing contacts with Dutch tree nurseries. Client can, via PUM expert involved, apply to participate in the PUM Business Link Programme (BLP). Business Link is a follow-up activity to PUM's advisory work. A client can apply in continuation of a PUM mission. In this case there was a special interest in mechanization in the nursery because there are plans to start a Christmas tree nursery of about 800 hectare!

In the wild, Picea pungens grows to about 23 m but when planted in parks and gardens it seldom exceeds 15 m tall by 5 m wide. It is a columnar or conical evergreen conifer with densely growing horizontal branches. Picea pungens and its many cultivars often grown as ornamental trees in gardens and parks. It is also grown for the Christmas tree industry. The cultivar "Mistly Blue" was unknown in Kazan and a full trolley has been ordered in the Netherlands after this visit for export to Tatarstan.

Tatarstan - Kazan.