Biotechnology based tree improvement research program for desired wood properties at North Carolina State University

The Southern U.S. is the major supplier of industrial wood and wood products to the world. For the region's wood products industry to meet future demands, more wood with targeted characteristics will have to be produced more efficiently on less land. Increasingly, around the world, intensive plantation forestry is being used for wood supply, allowing natural forests to be managed less intensively for habitat conservation, aesthetics and recreation. Great increases in the productivity of pine plantations in the Southern US have been achieved due to genetic and silvicultural improvements in recent years. However, increased growth rates have resulted in trees with more juvenile wood, which is unsuitable for many applications. There is a need for rapid growing short rotation juvenile loblolly pine with improved wood properties. To achieve this goal, we have been integrating research on wood properties, tree breeding, propagation and genomics during the past 5 years. Two approaches have been taken to achieve this goal: selection of the desired traits from the genetically controlled natural variations in target properties and improvement through genetic profiling of the desired properties. Progress from both approaches is discussed.