{"id":32,"date":"2018-07-20T16:20:34","date_gmt":"2018-07-20T16:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8009\/stories\/?p=32"},"modified":"2026-01-29T18:48:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T18:48:02","slug":"what-is-grafting-in-forestry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forestrycareers.com\/stories\/what-is-grafting-in-forestry\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Grafting in Forestry? How It Works and Why Researchers Use It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our genetics research team shows how grafting helps them save years of time in their ongoing quest to advance the quality of our trees. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

GLENNVILLE, Georgia\u2014How do you convince a tree it\u2019s years\u2014maybe even decades\u2014older than it really is? Rayonier\u2019s genetics research team does it by using a technique called top grafting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process shaves a massive amount of time off our advances in tree genetics research<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Timber
Grafting a young, promising tree onto an older tree will make the shoot behave as though it is the age of the older tree. That allows seeds (from pine cones) to be produced years earlier.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rather than waiting for a new seedling to mature to seed-producing age (about 7 years), our seed production team grafts our most promising trees with older trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top Grafting in the Treetops<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Climbing into aerial lifts to reach the treetops, the team fuses shoots (branch ends) from genetically superior young trees onto the end of the older trees\u2019 branches at the top of the crown. The young tree shoots then perform as though they are the age of the older trees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This leads the promising new trees to produce seeds within the year, allowing us to plant and research how their progeny perform. The best performers from the seeds we plant will be selected for mass planting in our seed orchards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n