University of Alberta researchers have, for the first time, captured a much better view of what may be contributing to failures in lodgepole pine seed orchards — a tree essential to Alberta’s forest industry. The researchers used synchrotron microcomputed tomography, an advanced 3D imaging method usually used in medicine, in a pilot study to visually explore why some pollinated female pine cones, known as conelets, are healthy while others dielong before they fully develop. Carried out at the Saskatoon-based Canadian Light Source, the technique provided a clearer view of the internal reproductive structures of healthy and unhealthy conelets — a big improvement over previous low-resolution images, says study co-author Barb Thomas, a professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences. “This represents the next step in using this technology to help determine why conelet failure occurs and how we can potentially change our management in the orchards,” she notes.