Here is a million bucks idea - how to speed up growth rate of tree?

Question

Is there an equivalent of human growth hormone or any method to accelerate the growth rate of tree?

If we can speed up the rate of commerically logged trees of high value , e.g. rosewood, ebony. etc, there would be very beneficial environmentally(no more logging in the rainforest), not to mention the commerical value.

I was not able to find anything other than an article in Discover magazine about a Chinese shrug that has been selectively bred to increase grow rate by two fold. Other than that, I found nothing through the routes of genetic engineering or molecular mechanism.

Does anyone know any researcher or any company currently working on this problem/

Answer 1

THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF A TREE ARE THE RESULTS OF THE INTERACTION BETWEEN ITS GENETIC POTENTIAL AND THE SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. THERE ARE MANY EXAMPLES OF THIS INTERACTION. IN NATURE, SWEETGUM MAY ATTAIN A HEIGHT OF 150 TO 175 FEET TALL, YET RARELY DOES THE SPECIES GROW THAT LARGE IN URBAN AREAS. WHILE SWEETGUM MAY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO GROW 150 FEET TALL, THE URBAN ENVIRONMENTS LIMITS THE EXPRESSION OF THAT POTENTIAL.

PLANT SYSTEMS, LIKE ALL LIVING ORGANISMS, RESPOND TO ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI. DEVELOPMENTAL RESPONSES TO LIGHT, GRAVITY, AND TEMPERATURE CAN BE ESSENTIAL TO THE SURVIVAL OF A TREE. PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS ARE NATURALLY OCCURRING COMPOUNDS THAT ACT IN SMALL QUANTITIES TO REGULATE PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.

Answer 2

Some of the pine plantations use liquid hog manure to irrigate with and fertilize the trees. That speeds up the growth quite a bit, that's why you can find pressure treated 6x6 posts that only have 5 or 6 growth rings in them. Makes the wood a lot weaker, which is why if you drop a 6x6 taking them off the truck some of them will break.

Answer 3

Sounds like a good idea. Have you considered a career in botany?

To answer you question, no! Trees are abundant, and there is no evidence that they are going to ever (soon) going to be going on the extinct list - so for now - we just use up what we have, plant seedlings, and let mother nature take over.

The research and time required to develop a growth exhancement element for trees is far too great to pay while we have an ample supply, as we do. So for now the research is going to have to wait - unless someone with a lot of drive and conviction comes along and changes it...

Answer 4

There are hormones that will cause rapid root growth...I think it is giberillic acid....anyway, I'm doubtful that rapid growth will give you any better wood. Here is my reason. There are pine tree species that grow here in the Northeastern USA, and in Sweden (cousin there). The wood in the pine here is softer because the wood grows faster (longer growing season, warmer climate, more unfrozen water, etc.) The same species grown in Sweden gives a tighter ring structure due to slower growth and therefor denser wood. So that makes me think that speeding up the natural growth of a tree might not give you a superior product. Depends on what properties you are looking for in the wood, I guess.

Answer 5

A rapid growth Popular tree was developed about 25-30 years ago, can grow 8-10 feet a year , , good pulp wood , fire wood reforesting, land fills , strip mining sites, etc, etc