Crown forestry research institute Scion has hit back at allegations  of collusion with the Environmental Risk Management Association.

Earlier this week the Soil & Health Association claimed Scion was pre-empting an application it was yet to lodge with ERMA for an extended GE pine trial.

Soil & Health produced photos of ground works on Scion’s Rotorua site, and claimed it was extending its field trial site in readiness for the application getting the go ahead.

But Scion spokeswoman Christl McMillan says the work has nothing to do with field trials.

"This is just a timing issue. We have a huge ongoing maintenance programme around our site. Our campus extends over 200 hectares. It's a very wooded, treed site

"A lot of blackberry, rotten logs and dangerous trees were tidied up. That was the basis of that waste that was removed from that site."

Scion is applying for permission to plant 4000 genetically engineered pine trees on its site. It currently has only 200.