Haapastensyrjä research infrastructure

The Haapastensyrjä research infrastructure in the municipality of Loppi is a centre for operational tree breeding activities that ensure the availability of high-quality and diverse seed for Finnish forestry.

Haapastensyrjä focuses on the production of new breeding material, the development of breeding methods, the production of forest trees for seed orchard seedlings, and studies on tree characteristics. Other activities include the maintenance of certified mother plants of horticultural crops for further production in plant nurseries and the conservation of national genetic resources of horticultural crops. 

The research facility includes greenhouses and open field areas used for cultivating experimental seedlings, grafts and mother plants, a seed centre for extracting cones and drying of biological samples, and various cold facilities for storing these samples.

The micropropagation laboratory is used for the propagation of horticultural plants and deciduous trees, as well as for the cryopreservation of national horticultural plant and fish genetic resources.

• 34 m² clean room: irrigation piping, high pressure humidification, temperature control with air heat pump, LED lights, growing tables
• 64 m² standard grow room: irrigation piping, high pressure humidification, refrigeration (freezing down to -10°C), LED lighting, CO2 supply, grow tables
• Senmatic greenhouse automation in both rooms for control of conditions and data recording

• 640 m², steel beam, honeycomb roof, year-round use
• 5 compartments: four á 104 m², one 64 m²
• Cleaning space in one compartment of 104 m², possibility to grow seed materials in addition to clean laboratory plants
• Cold storage container from -10 to +25 °C
• Senmatic greenhouse automation for condition control and data recording, irrigation piping, high pressure humidification, liquid circulation heating, mechanical closed ventilation, shade and blackout curtains, grow tables, CO2 supply, grow lights, LED lights in the smallest compartment

• 1600 m², steel beam, honeycomb roof, rooting compartment for year-round use (to be built in 2026)
• 640 m² rooting compartment: irrigation booms, high pressure spraying, liquid circulation heating, shade curtains, growing tables
• 960 m² sowing compartment: irrigation booms, frost-free heating
• Rooting and sowing compartments with Senmatic greenhouse automation for control of conditions and data recording

• Total 900 m², glulam frame, 2-ply plastic roof for seasonal use
• Compartment A: 300 m², irrigation piping, liquid heating, LED lighting coming in 2025, growing tables available if required
• Compartment B: 300 m², irrigation piping, liquid heating
• Compartment C: 300 m², irrigation piping
• All compartments with Senmatic greenhouse automation for climate control and data recording

• 4 units, 5800 m², one steel-framed with roll-up plastic roofs, the others with glued wood frames and fixed plastic roofs
• Senmatic greenhouse automation for condition control and data recording, irrigation piping, control heating
• Grafted orchards established for controlled crossing by the tree breeding programme 

• 6 tunnels, 5400 m², steel tube frames with roll-up plastic covers
• Tunnel width: 10 m
• Data storage with dataloggers, irrigation piping, hydronic heating
• For growing forest tree stems

• 1600 m² 
• Irrigation boom, short-day treatment facility
• For growing experimental seedlings

• 9000 m² 
• Irrigation pipelines
• For the cultivation of inoculum seedlings and other material

• Drying plant: drying, cleaning and storage of cones, pollen and plant parts, 4-piece drying cabinet, seed and funnel separators, air separator, laminator, traction cabinet
• Seed and pollen germination room: germination cabinet, heating cabinet, 3 microscopes, one with camera, precision scales
• Freezing facilities: deep freezer -80°C, 2 pollen stores -22°C, 2 seed stores -16°C and 1 -5°C, 2 seedling stores -4°C, 2 branch stores -4°C

• Two heated working halls, 420 m2 in total
• Separation equipment for soil organisms, 3 for different sample sizes, peat filling line, washing and disinfection equipment for honeycombs, band saw
• Specialised plant protection facilities

• Size: 3 ha

• Size: 180 ha
• Includes 30 ha of clonal archives 

• Tree breeding (statutory service)
• Graft production for seed orchards (customer-funded) 
• Forest genetics research 
• Maintenance of horticultural mother seedlings (statutory service) and certified seed production