Emil Bengtsson

I'm an agronomist with a strong interest in plant pathology. During my B.Sc./M.Sc. education, I had the opportunity to start working in the fascinating industry of large-scale forest seedling production. Approximately 400 million seedlings are produced annually in Sweden, mostly Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies). This sector is crucial for replanting harvested forest areas and thereby ensuring a sustainable use of forest lands. 

Greenhouse full of Scots pine seedlings

The forest seedling production system is based on large nursery units where seedlings are cultivated in a resource-efficient and cost-effective manner. However, fungal diseases pose a significant challenge for the industry due to the densely grown seedlings, frequent irrigation and the limited availability of fungicides. Many pathogens can infect and kill forest seedlings such as Botrytis, Fusarium and Phytophthora. In recent years, new diseases have appeared, such as those caused by  Phoma and Cladosporium. The objective of my research is to understand why these new pathogens have emerged, how they are spread within this cultivation system, and what can be done to control them. Hopefully, my research results can contribute to a more sustainable plant production system!

The following companies contribute to the funding of my research project:
Holmen, SCA, Stora Enso, Sveaskog and Södra.

Newly sprouted seedling

• Audrius Menkis – main supervisor
• Malin Elfstrand – co-supervisor
• Åke Olson – co-supervisor