This is something that needs to be tested in the field, but offers a potential way forward for what is one of the most pressing challenges of the day."
The team now plans to work with a forest products company to test their findings in the field.
The work builds on a previous study from 2010 in which the team identified the role of the genes involved, in the plant Arabidopsis.
The study was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.