- Precision Silviculture Programme
The Pruning workstream aims to deliver prototype pruning tools that improve the safety and productivity of forest pruning operations.
Pruning is reliant on unskilled labour, much of it from the Pacific Islands, and the costs of pruning have risen sharply due to the difficulties in attracting labour to do this physical and hard work. Pruning is a value-add activity that can move radiata pine into higher value markets, but at current costs and returns, coupled with the difficulty of securing labour, the majority of the larger forest owners have stopped pruning. Small-scale forest owners, in general, are continuing to prune, and even if fully mechanised solutions are developed, the scale and the dispersed nature of these forests may mean that fully mechanised solutions are not as cost effective in smaller blocks.
- Quantifying the economics of pruning.
- Improving the efficiency and ergonomics of pruning using new power assist tools.
- Development of partial and full mechanisation and automation for larger scale pruning operations.
- With the development of mechanised pruning there is also the potential to pre-select the trees for pruning (and subsequent thinning), based on remote sensing of tree form and spatial location, and to make this data available as a pruning (and thinning) plan to assist the operator’s decision making or to guide an autonomous machine (Thinning workstream).
If you are interested in learning more about the projects underway or how you can become more involved in the programme. Please contact Claire Stewart, Programme Manager.
Explore other Precision Silviculture Programme workstreams:
Precision Silviculture Programme News
IUFRO 1.01.04 Tree Establishment and Early Growth Dynamics Conference being held in Rotorua 17-20 March 2025.
Scion will be hosting the IUFRO – International Union of Forest Research Organisations 1.01.04 conference in March this year titled, Achieving Forest establishment success at
How can AI assist in Pathogen Detection?
The FGR Precision Silviculture Programme is always looking at how to utilise digital technologies to improve outcomes and the Nursery workstream is no different. FGR
57th International Symposium on Forestry Mechanisation (FORMEC), June 9-13 2025, Joensuu, Finland
FORMEC 2025 is calling again the family of forest technologists and other friends of sustainable forestry to get together in Joensuu, Finland. The theme of
Related searchable documents and reports
| Title | Date | Report Number | Author | Link | hf:doc_categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology Adoption Human Factors: Operational Lessons Learned M-Planter | February 19, 2025 | PSP-T028 | Brionny Hooper & Richard Parker (Scion) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Mechanical Planting Options in New Zealand: PlantmaX | February 17, 2025 | PSP-TN004 | C Rolando (Scion), J Palmer (Forme Consulting), S Wright (Pan Pac Forest Products), Z Chen (Forme Consulting) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Silviculture Micro_Innovation Challenge : High Stump Manual Thinning | November 28, 2024 | PSP-TN003 | Tim Petro | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Viability of Trichoderma Conidia in Nanocellulose Hydrogel | October 31, 2024 | PSP-T025 | Dr Helen Whelan | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Individual Tree Data Value Project – Phase 2 | October 1, 2024 | PSP-T024 | J Palmer, Z Chen – Forme Consulting Group | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Extended planting season trial using hydrogels : Rayonier Matariki Maramarua Forest – Final Report June 2023 | October 1, 2024 | PSP-T023 | C Rolando (Scion), E Vili, K Fleet, K Yallop (Rayonier Matariki Forests), R Schoonderwoerd | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Current Practices & Challenges in NZ Thinning Operations: Results of a Survey and Workshop in 2023 | October 1, 2024 | PSP-T022 | L Holt & Y Dickinson (Scion) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Review of fertiliser and nutrient enhancers applied in nursery or at planting (April 2024) | October 1, 2024 | PSP-T021 | Steven Dovey (Scion) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| GOVOR Forest Nursery Trial & Evaluation May 2024 (FGR372) | October 1, 2024 | PSP-T020 | Jacob Kelley – Tui Technologies | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| PSP Pruning Injury Report- Analysis IRIS Data 2018-2022 (December 2023) | October 1, 2024 | PSP-T019 | Brionny Hooper, Christine Dodunski (Scion), Richard Parker | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Review of Planting Stock Quality & Performance – Feb 2024 | October 1, 2024 | PSP-TR005 | Jacqui Aimers | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| UAV Release Spraying – Results from operational UAV trials | October 1, 2024 | PSP-TN002 | D De Silva, J Henry, J Nairn, P Massam, R Hartley, W Yorston (Scion) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| UAV Survival Assessments Report : RGB Ortho-plotting | April 24, 2024 | PSP-T014 | J Emmens, R Hartley (Scion) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| UAV Survival Assessments : SOP Series – Best Practice Guidelines for UAV Forest Operations | April 24, 2024 | PSP-T015 | Jacob Emmens (as part of TFF UAV Survival Assessments project) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| UAV Survival Assessments : SOP Series – Best Practice Guidelines for UAV Forest Operations | April 24, 2024 | PSP-T016 | Whanarau Edmonds (as part of TFF UAV Survival Assessments project) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| UAV Survival Assessments Report : the value of wall-to-wall site capture | April 24, 2024 | PSP-T017 | Whanarau Edmonds and Robin Hartley | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| UAV Survival Assessments Report Enhancing Survival Surveys : Multispectral vs RGB UAV Imaging | April 24, 2024 | PSP-T018 | Blake Singleton, Robin Hartley, Sam Davidson | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Hydrogel Trials Nanocellulose Hydrogels & Soil Water Retention Feb2024 | March 18, 2024 | PSP-TN001 | Don White & Carol Rolando, Jen Owens | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Battery Powered Chainsaws in Waste Thinning | December 19, 2023 | PSP-T012 | Rob Prebble Consulting & Scion Rotorua/Christchurch | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Economic review of the M-Planter in New Zealand | September 27, 2023 | PSP-T008 | Various | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Seeding selection using computer vision | July 10, 2023 | PSP-T009 | Dr Brian Russell | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Final Report : Investigation of extending the planting season into late March using hydrogels and growth promoters – Final Report 12 months | June 28, 2023 | PSP-T007 | ALloyd, G Coker, J Moore, KFleet, Project Team : C Ford, S Hill, S Smaill, T Stovold | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Investigation of extending the planting season into late March using hydrogels and growth promoters | May 5, 2023 | PSP-T001 | A Lloyd, C Ford, G Coker, K Fleet, S Hill & J Moore (Timberlands), S Smaill, T Stovold | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Economics of Pruning Radiata Report Dec 2022 | May 2, 2023 | PSP-T005 | Ngahere Resources Ltd | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Time and Motion Study of Battery Powered Pruning Devices in Lake Taupo Forest – Final Report | March 14, 2023 | PSP-T004 | J Palmer & Z Chen | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Economics of pruning radiata | November 29, 2022 | PSP-T002 | G Buchanan, Ngahere Resources Ltd | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Manual and Mechanised Pruning Technologies: A review of the literature | October 28, 2022 | PSP-TR001 | Fergus Rural, Tim Petro | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Mechanised Thin to Waste and Production Thinning Technologies: an International and Domestic Review | October 28, 2022 | PSP-TR002 | Awdon Technologies, Don Scott | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Precision Planting Technology Scan | October 28, 2022 | PSP-TR003 | Fergus Rural, Tim Petro | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Modern nursery technology for containerised and bare rooted production systems | October 28, 2022 | PSP-TR004 | A Lloyd, and G Coker – Scion, B Nanayakkara, C Ford, S Klinger | precision-silviculture-programme-public |
