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Pine Trees To Order

Genetic engineering techniques are being used to produce disease-resistant radiata pines. Researchers at DSIR Fruit and Trees are hunting for genetic coding that makes pine trees more resistant to diseases. They plan to use this material to produce a stronger, healthier strain of trees.

Run in conjunction with the Forest Research Institute, the three-year project aims to establish resistance to a needle fungus that costs the New Zealand forestry industry $6.5 million annually. The researchers will identify those strains naturally resistant to the fungus, isolate the genes that provide the resistance, and insert these into tissue cultures for plant production.

By cloning and mass producing seed-lings with a built-in genetic resistance to the fungus, forests will need less spraying and tree losses will be reduced.