AgroPages-Arcadia Bioscience/ArborGen agree on technology license-Agricultural news

Arcadia Bioscience/ArborGen agree on technology license

Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., an agricultural biotechnology company, and ArborGen announced an agreement to incorporate Arcadia’s water use efficiency (WUE) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) technologies in eucalyptus trees.

The license agreement will allow ArborGen, a global supplier of seedling products and elite genetics to the forest industry, to develop eucalyptus trees that produce higher yields per unit of nitrogen and water. The license also includes the use of the technologies in poplar trees and an option for use in pine trees.

Three in ten of the world’s forests are used for production of wood and non-wood forest products, according to the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the global acreage of purpose-grown forests is increasing. In 2000, managed forest plantations provided an estimated 35 percent of global roundwood supply. By 2020, that number is expected to increase to 44 percent.

However, climate change is threatening forest productivity. Shifting rainfall patterns and drought have a direct impact on tree health. Longer dry seasons and multi-year droughts sensitize forests to other stresses, including pests, disease and fire.

“Our WUE and NUE technologies enable plants to use water and nitrogen more efficiently, producing high yields under environmental stress,” said Eric Rey, president and CEO of Arcadia. “Increasing the productivity of purpose-grown forests will help relieve the strain on limited land and water resources to meet the growing global demand for wood products.”