Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Video | Business Headlines | Internet | Science | Scientific Ethics | Technology | Search

 

Global Expert investigates mystery plant ailment

Global Expert investigates mystery plant ailment

Bay of Plenty forestry biotechnology company Horizon2 has gone global in its efforts to find out why some of the mother plants from one of its elite pine tree breeding programmes are mysteriously failing.

The host plants, which are the result of a sophisticated cloning programme, produce up to 50 cuttings each for sale to forest owners looking for superior tree stock with high growth rates and desirable wood property traits.

There is no impact on product quality because these plants are eliminated from the production system but, ultimately, the problem impacts the bottom line and Horizon2’s ability to deliver product at a reasonable cost.

For the last year, staff at Horizon2’s Whakatane base have been trying to work out why some of the mother plants are turning yellow and then becoming so weak that they snap off at ground level.

“We take the cuttings off them by hand,” says Kiri Armstrong, a Propagation Technologist with Horizon2, “and just moving some of the branches a little to take a cutting, or brushing past the tree while walking down the row, can cause them to snap at the base.”

After exhausting its own avenues, Horizon2 used Global Expert, which links businesses into a worldwide network of 20,000 technology experts, to find help with solving the problem. The recently launched service, offered by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, confidentially puts business problems in front of the global network, with a short list of experts with appropriate knowledge presented to the business within two to three weeks.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

That connected Horizon2 with Dr David Thompson, based in Ireland and with many years experience working with somatic embryogenesis, the process being used by Horizon2 to clone its plants.

Dr Thompson has worked with international companies experienced in somatic embryogenesis, which involves propagating tissue from immature seeds in sterile, laboratory conditions, to rapidly multiply stock of preferred varieties.

He is spending two weeks in Whakatane, working with Horizon2 to see if he can crack the problem, which is costing Horizon2 money and time.

“With each mother plant producing 50 trees out the gate, they are very valuable,” says Ms Armstrong.

The problem is also slowing production as Horizon2 is forced to apply an additional, much slower production step to 50 percent of the crop, in order to mitigate against the problem until the cause is found.

Horizon2 was formed in 2004, out of a merger between two leading forestry biotechnology entities – Carter Holt Harvey’s Forest Genetics and Rubicon’s Trees & Technology.

Somatic embryogenesis was selected as the preferred cloning process because it generates more trees more quickly and the base tissue can be cryogenically preserved and used many decades later if its progeny are high performers and forest companies want more of them.

“We’ve been learning more about somatic embryogenesis and upscaling the technology during a research and development project over the last few years. We’ve made significant advances towards optimising the technology, but this problem has us stumped,” says Ms Armstrong.

She says the mother trees behave normally until they have been planted in the field for six to 12 months. Some then turn yellow, indicating reduced uptake of nutrients, and often form a callus at the point where they later break off.

The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology has invested $800,000 in Horizon2’s research and development project into somatic embryogenesis techniques, through its Technology for Business Growth (TBG) scheme.

ends

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Business Headlines | Sci-Tech Headlines

 
GenPro: General Practices Begin Issuing Clause 14 Notices

GenPro has been copied into a rising number of Clause 14 notices issued since the NZNO lodged its Primary Practice Pay Equity Claim against General Practice employers in December 2023.More

SPADA: Screen Industry Unites For Streaming Platform Regulation & Intellectual Property Protections

In an unprecedented international collaboration, representatives of screen producing organisations from around the world have released a joint statement.More

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.