Supertrees

My husband is an accountant and receives the Kiplinger Letter. In it is an article about these "supertrees" that are being developed. I thought it interesting to share:

"Don’t laugh, but "supertrees" are real, and they can help cut pollution. Expect firms to plant more ecologically friendly varieties of poplar, beech and pine that, with genetic tweaks, eat 25% more carbon dioxide than today’s trees. The supertrees reach harvest-ready maturity 40% faster than regular trees. That will help to rev up the production of biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol, which can be distilled from wood pulp and sawdust, and which will be in demand. The forest industry also gains from the quick growth of the supertrees, and furniture makers will benefit because the harvested wood is nearly blemish free. Then there are "electric" trees. Scientists can now harvest power from trees, tapping the bark for a low-voltage charge. It’s hardly a major energy source, but... It’s enough to supply small battery-powered sensors on the trees. The sensors will provide invaluable soil and weather information to growers. They warn of moisture and humidity problems and of disease-causing conditions. They’ll also be of use to forest rangers. The sensors point to dry areas that might be susceptible to fire and provide early notice when a blaze does start." copyright 2008 Kiplingerbiz.com

Found these two additional links on the subject of supertrees: http://www.arborgen.com/ and
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/1999/07/20975

The following link isn't about genetically engineering trees, but is still an interesting site about the products they sell and the theories behind them: http://www.supertrees.com/

JoAnn


This message was edited Dec 8, 2008 10:53 AM

Air Pots have come onto the market in the last couple of years. Judging from the nursery production wholesale catalogs, they are considerably more costly than the traditional solid wall pots commonly used. It remains to be seen if marketing can promote the benefits to the consumer so that retail garden centers can sell them. Take the situation of two identical Genus-species-cultivar trees side by side, with one in an air pot and one in the traditional solid wall pot. The Air-Pot tree costs 15% more. If you're a retailer which will you take a chance on stocking? Stocking both creates confusion and even greater problems.


http://www.florikan.com/download_docs/Air%20Pots%20Pruning%20Post%202.07-2.08.pdf

The company also does a good line in the snake oil that these electric trees need for fertiliser.

Resin

Glad you're here Resin. If your referring to the trees grown in the air pot are there any real benefits either to the grower or the consumer?

Sorry, no, was referring to the "electric" trees in the first post.

Air pots are supposed to prevent roots from going round and round in circles at the bottom of the pot; the idea is that the root tips go through the holes into the air where they are cut by getting dried out, forcing the root to branch inside the pot, instead of circling. It is supposed to work well, though I've never inspected any.

Resin

Thank you, Resin. If the concept does eliminate the all to often condition of pot bound then I hope it becomes more widely used. They are nowhere to be found here in the retail garden center trade. When I visited a large production nursery in Lake County Ohio last summer they were aware of them but had no intention of using them for cost reasons.

I'm down in timber country and that super tree thing is kind of BS. Depending on it's use the timber companies have been developing trees that grow faster, straighter etc. What ever is more useful to them. The carbon dioxide thing is questionable simply because it's a almost zero some game. If you burn the wood it will give off the carbon dioxide it has collected in an almost equal amount. Any time it is used as fuel it will be burned somewhere down the line. You also have to add any fossil fuels used to grow and harvest the trees and process them. Making ethanol is especially questionable as to how much fossil fuels it uses to be produce and transported.

I also trade stocks for a living so I do know the economics in all these schemes and very few energy sources are economical. Wind and solar are the non polluting options with wind power being picky on location but the cheapest clean energy form. Solar is getting cheaper but is uneconomical unless you have net metering, even then it takes a long time to pay off your investment.


I could give a 10,000 word essay on these subjects but this is not the time or place to do so.

I appreciate what you did share CoreHHI.

Thanks for all the comments to my post. As with all "new" ideas, I think it will take years for Supertrees to prove itself in order to catch on. I'm sure it won't happen in my lifetime, but I am glad that some are taking the initiative to research and develop these types of trees.

Those air pots make sense to me and as with everything else, eventually the prices will come down as competition arises.

I hope you're right. I, for one, would like to be assured the container plant I'm buying isn't pot bound. I would pay a little more for the better rooted plant.

Snapple, I don't know much about the retail nursery trade in the rest of the country, but there's a local nursery in St Louis 'exburbs' (Forrest Keeling) that sells trees grown in air pots. I have had great success with them. I think most of their business is wholesale, but they also do retail. You can check out their website (fknursery.com).

I don't think there is a universal definition for a "supertree". I have ordered from ArborGen and their trees aren't genetically modified (that I know of)...just bred for vigor and with a successful groing medium. So when you read about a "supertree" it doesn't necessarily mean the kind that the Kiplinger article refers to.

(Link to pic I previously posted of box of ArborGen trees)
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=4716316