Scientists are addressing how GM trees can help the world meet its need for a “sustainable, renewable source of biomass in the face of climate change.” In the U.S. and around the world field trials of GM eucalyptus, pines, poplars and fruit trees are being conducted. Since the beginning of the research in the 1980s only two GM trees have made it to market – the ringspot virus-resistant GE papaya trees grown in Hawaii, and more than 1 million insect-resistant poplars planted in China in the 2000s. The implications for timber and fruit production will be interesting to track.
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