Lunatic question about trees.?
OK, let’s say for a moment you want to grow a tree in a tunnel, and you have unlimited free electrical power. You have the tunnel walls completely sealed off so that you can control the climate and atmosphere, and can set up high intensity lights to provide the photo part of photosynthesis. You have unlimited desalinized water and nutrients through a hydroponic setup husky enough to support the root system of the tree.
You have 24 hour semi-tropical days, unlimited rainfall and nutrients, heightened CO2 levels and no pests whatsoever.
Question is, can you get the bastard to grow sideways so the resulting lumber will be usable? Does phototropism trump geotropism after germination?
What if you spin it on a constant basis?
Alright, assuming that the (slowly) rotating sealed cylinder has extensible support struts to attach to the growing trunk and branches to secure them in place and hold the tree as it grows, would the lack of a clear direction of gravity and the the constant supply of light from one end result in (after a few years lifespan) something reasonably like a timber tree, but grown sideways underground?
Well first of all, growing it sideways is no different than growing it normally when it comes to lumber. I’m not sure why one would think there would be a difference there. You still have a round trunk that is made of wood. Either way you will be slicing it the same way for lumber.
To the next part of the question, yes, I believe you could get it to grow sideways for a bit, but no phototropism will not trump geotropism over time. In other words, you can get it grow sideways, toward the light, but gravity is going to bring that thing to the ground with no trunk to support the weight of the branches and being part of the weight hanging over the ground to begin with, it is coming down and won’t likely survive all that well.