This symposium is the third in a series featuring the propaga- tion of
higher plants through tissue culture. The first of these symposia,
entitled "A Bridge Between Research and Application," was held at the
University in 1978 and was published by the Technical Information
Center, Department of Energy. The second symposium, on "Emerging
Technologies and Strategies," was held in 1980 and pub- lished as a
special issue of Environmental and Experimental Botany. One of the aims
of these symposia was to examine the current state- of-the-art in tissue
culture technology and to relate this state of technology to practical,
applied, and commercial interests. Thus, the third of this series on
development and variation focused on embryogenesis in culture: how to
recognize it, factors which affect embryogenesis, use of embryogenic
systems, etc.; and variability from culture. A special session on woody
species again emphasized somatic embryogenesis as a means of rapid
propagation. This volume emphasizes tissue culture of forest trees. All
of these areas, we feel, are breakthrough areas in which significant
progress is expected in the next few years.