Christmas tree that holds its needles longer one step closer to your living room

The dream of a no-mess Christmas tree is becoming a reality as Nova Scotia producers prepare to plant seedlings years in the making, but the research centre thatmade it happen is also preparing to close now that the project is complete.

Smart trees are engineered to hold on to their needles for up to three months. The technology developed byDalhousie University researcherswas officially licensed for commercial use last month, and seedlings are being distributed to growers who will begin planting in thespring.

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Add thisto an industry on the rise,and it's an exciting time tobe a Christmas tree farmer in Nova Scotia, said Angus Bonnyman.

"This allows us to command a higher price with what's going on in the market now," said Bonnyman, executive director of the Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia. "If we can sell more trees, and also replace some of the alternatives, then that would lead to higher salesand better profits for our growers."

For the pastseveral years,Dr.RajLadaand his teamat the Christmas Tree Research Centre in Bible Hill, N.S.,have been replicating the traits of full, sturdy and great smelling trees that naturally hold onto their needles. They've also workedon a way to intercept the hormone that makes needles dropafter harvest.

Centre set to close Dec. 31

Needle drop impacts about30 per cent oftrees, according to Lada, which meanssmall, family-run farms often mustship extra treesto replace the onesthat don't make it.

"We had somewhere close to about 100 to 200 per cent improvement, actually, from those selected parental material," he said.

But as exciting as the resultsare,it's bittersweet for Lada.

Now thatthe government-funded projects arecomplete,the centre is set to close its doors Dec. 31, he said.

Lada hopesto find someone who can bankroll the next era of Christmas tree research, but admitsfinding funding is one of the biggest challenges.

"It is so emotional to me, personally, actually because a lot of time has been spent in terms of establishing this centre and the projects," he said.

Out of lab, onto land

The seedlings and cell cultures developed by Lada and his team are being distributed to people like James DeLong, owner of DeLong Farms near New Germany, N.S.

DeLongis president of theSMARTChristmasTreeResearchCo-operative, a group of more than 100 producers who bought into theidea and are now prepared to reap the rewards.

But the long-time tree farmer, who is"knee-deep in the hoopla right now," said it's not all about making more money. His farm largely focuses on the local market.

"We here at DeLongFarms do not plan to sell them at a premium price, but we do plan to try to grow a better tree for our consumer," he said.

Trees shipped further afield

The Nova Scotia industry is doing well thanks to a decrease in supply south of the border, andsome wholesale Christmas tree producers are even running out of trees.

Roughly 12,000 hectares of Christmas trees are in production in Nova Scotia. More than a million trees areexported every year, destined for living rooms in places such as theCaribbean, Panama and the U.S.

Bonnymansaid with needles that hold on longer, trees can be shipped even further afield.

The industry is now valued at about $52 million annually, according to figures from the Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia.

But Bonnyman saidyou won't seesmart trees at your local Christmas treelot next year.

"It's not like growing carrots. There's quite a long time horizon, so we're looking to get these seedlings into the ground and be able to see the benefits in years in the future."