Scientists Learn to Speed Up Tree Growth

REIDSVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Scientists say they have found a way to boost tree growth but so far there they haven’t found a practical use for the fast-growing plants.

A tree species at N.C. State’s Upper Piedmont Research Station in Reidsville grew up to 20 feet in a single year, about double its usual rate. A typical tree in the area grows about 18 inches in a good year.

The experiment uses paulownias, a naturally rapid-growing tree from China whose thin stalks are covered in purple blossoms during the spring.

Researchers bred seven varieties of the trees, the quickest of which can grow about 18 to 20 feet in a year, said Ben Bergmann, who was in charge of the project. Bergmann now is the head of the Tropical Research Studies Department at Duke University.

The unusual growth was discovered during experiments to lessen animal waste in groundwater and soil, he said. Because of the trees’ rapid growth, their roots absorb nutrients and prevent ground and surface water contamination.

So far, researchers have no immediate plans for the paulownias.

“It’s a catch-22. There’s no demand so people don’t grow them,” Bergmann said. “And there won’t be any demand until people start growing them.”

The trees produce a light weight wood that can be used for furniture and musical instruments, Bergmann said.

Gene Stewart, the arborist at New Garden Landscaping and Nursery in Greensboro, said it’s hard to believe a tree can grow that fast.

“If they managed to do that, every wholesale nursery in the country would like to know about it,” Stewart said. “It would be huge.”

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