James Crants wrote: > My concern is not so much with the field test as with eventual > commercialization and widespread distribution of these trees > in places eucalyptus is not currently able to invade.
James, the APHIS link I provided in my previous post http://tinyurl.com/mutlmu explained: "the Eucalyptus species used by ArborGen, Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophyll is not considered invasive." "the GE hybrid trees are unlikely to produce seed, the trees are unlikely to hybridize with any nearby species, any offspring are likely to be sickly, and Eucalyptus grandis has difficulty establishing in the wild." "Eucalyptus grandis has been grown commercially in Florida since the 1960s and there has been no evidence that the species has escaped from cultivation and has become invasive. There is no reason to believe that adding cold tolerance to this genetic background would increase the likelihood that the species would become invasive." Paul Cherubini El Dorado, Calif.
