At ArborGen, we’re working to address the global demand for wood and wood products by applying years of research in tree breeding and new discoveries in biotechnology to make working trees and commercial forests more productive.

ArborGen has developed a process to help forest land owners, managers and growers test and select the highest performing tree varieties with the best combination of growth, stem, wood, and pest resistance characteristics.

Biotechnology research in plant tissue culture and genomics technology is expanding the forestry industry’s capabilities to develop and utilize new molecular techniques for tree improvement. ArborGen biotechnology is helping trees grow faster, resist stressful environments, withstand diseases and pests, and produce superior quality wood. We are working on improved varieties of pine, eucalyptus and populus.

We’re making important discoveries to improve the productivity of hardwood species and hardwood forest plantations to help reduce the need to harvest natural stands.

Trees have the potential to become a valuable and renewable resource in the production of biofuels. By applying ArborGen technology, we can help produce wood products grown as a dedicated energy crop consistent with the nation’s bioenergy goals.

ArborGen supports the ongoing efforts to restore the American chestnut tree. The chestnut was once the dominant species in the forests of the Eastern United States before it became nearly extinct by a fungal disease early in the 20th century. Tree biotechnology holds the promise of restoring other threatened and endangered tree species such as the flowering dogwood, American elm and California oak.