May 3, 2004

Non GM tree hybridization

From Mossback's Progress comes a very cool story from The Oregonian: bq. It's quiet here. The sun shines. The sky's a brilliant blue. The ground is soft, and a breeze moves through rows of trees. It's a long way from the clash of industry and environmentalists, a long way from Portland or Salem with their bustle and rushed talk about Oregon's future. It's quiet here, but if you listen you might hear our future growing. bq. They're poplars, the trees that line the bottom lands and experimental plots. Cottonwoods, if you like. But they're hybrids, crossbred for fast growth, disease resistance, wood quality and even taste to keep deer away. bq. And do they grow -- at a rate of about 500 cubic feet per acre per year on a 10-year rotation. That's 50 to 75 percent faster than native poplars. It also stacks up nicely next to other Northwest trees. A Douglas fir plantation can reach 140 to 150 cubic feet per acre per year after a 50-year-rotation. And more: bq. "This marries traditional agriculture to forestry," says Brian Stanton, GreenWood's plant geneticist, who quickly notes there's nothing Dr. Frankenstein about this. It's easy to see why. Believing GreenWood was doing genetic engineering, eco-terrorists bombed its facilities in 2001. In fact, the company uses traditional cross-breeding. It just does so at a state-of-the-art level. Here is the company's own website: GreenWood Resources Posted by DaveH at May 3, 2004 12:26 PM