Report on the Thirty-Fifth Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference (SFTIC 2019)

The 35th biennial Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference (SFTIC) was held on the 4th and 5th day of June 2019, in Lexington, KY, USA. The theme of the conference was “Genetics and improvement of forest health and productivity”. Plenary speakers detailed significant progress in understanding forest tree genomes, identifying candidate genes for disease resistance and tree architecture traits and utilizing both genomic selection and genetic modification to advance forest health and productivity. Concurrent and general technical sessions provided additional evidence of progress in these areas as well as information on seed zone development for the eastern USA and species prioritization for conservation and restoration programs, in addition to advanced genome-assisted selection and breeding methods and programs in species of commercial interest including pines and eucalyptus. An interactive poster session provided each poster presenter an opportunity to speak in front of a general session audience and to take Q&A in a traditional poster session format. Pre-conference workshops and a post-conference field tour rounded out the 35th SFTIC with 88 registered for the conference, more than 60 participating in workshops and 33 attending the field tour. The conference program and proceedings are accessible through the SFTIC web site at http://www.sftic.org.