Early selection efficiency for fiber dimensions and their relationships with growth and wood quality for Pinus elliotth Engelm.in southern China

A solid understanding of the efficiency of early selection for fiber dimensions is a prerequisite for breeding slash pine(Pinus elliottii Engelm.)with improved properties for pulp and paper products.Genetic correlations between size of fibers,wood quality and growth properties are also important.To accomplish effective early selection for size of fibers and evaluate the impact for wood quality traits and ring widths,core samples were collected from360 trees of 20 open-pollinated Pinus elliottii families from three genetic trials.Cores were measured by SilviScan,and the age trends for phenotypic values,heritability,early-late genetic correlations,and early selection efficiency for fiber dimensions,such as tangential and radial fiber widths,fiber wall thickness and fiber coarseness,and their correlations with microfibril angle(MFA),modulus of elasticity(MOE),wood density and ring width were investigated.Different phenotypic trends were found for tangential and radial fiber widths while fiber coarseness and wall thickness curves were similar.Age trends of heritability based on area-weighted fiber dimensions were different.Low to moderate heritability from pith to bark(~0.5)was found for all fiber dimension across the three sites except for tangential fiber width and wall thickness at the Ganzhou site.Early-late genetic correlations were 0.9 after age of 9 years,and early selection for fiber dimensions could be effective due to strong genetic correlations.Our results showed moderate to strong positive genetic correlations for modulus of elasticity and density with fiber dimensions.The effects on fiber dimensions were weak or moderate when ring width or wood quality traits were selected alone.Estimates of efficiency for early selection indicated that the optimal age for radial fiber width and fiber coarseness was 6-7 years,while for tangential fiber width and wall thickness was 9-10 years.

Growth Variation and Early Selection of Betula Platyphylla in Natural Stands

The stem analysis of Betula platyphylla in natural forest at the Maoershan Forest Experimental Station of Northeast Forestry Universitu. showed that the growth variation of the trees. including height and diameter breast height decreaseswith the increase of the age. There is the turning point for the growth variation of the tree from acute change to relative sta-bility when the trees are in eighteen years old. There are signiticant difttrences among the height. diameter and volumegrowth of the trees at that time. Theretbre. the optimal age for carly seleetion of this species in natural stands is eighteenyears old (18 a). Diameter is used as main index for eary seleclion and height growth as auxiliary one.

Comparison and early selection of new clones in Populus tomentosa

In our study, two experimental plantations, respectively, with 24 and 32 new clones of P tomentosa, were established in Weixian County, Hebei Province and Wuzhi County, Henan Province using a completely randomized block design. A comparative study was conducted on the continuous 5-year-old height and diameter at breast height （DBH） of new clones in the two plantations. As well, based on genetic correlation over the years of testing of these clones, a preliminary study of early selection was carried out. Results indicate that the growth traits of the new clones in Weixian were better than those in Wuzhi. The traits show weak correlation between the two plantations. In some stands, the height, DBH and seedling volume of 5-year-old clones presented statistically significant differences among clones. In both plantations, the new clones showed over 0.6 repeatability of height, DBH and volume, as well as larger coefficients of variation （CV）. The fact that these clones achieved the largest repeatability and CV in the second year suggests that these traits are highly controlled by heredity. Thus, based on the growth traits of the second year, the new clones B305, B307, B303, H75, BT18, BT17 and 21J-1 were considered suitable in Weixian. In Wuzhi, the new clones had variable repeatability and CVs in various years and their correlation of growth traits among different years was not high. We conclude that early selection of new clones was not feasible in Wuzhi.

Age-related trends in genetic parameters for wood properties in Larix kaempferi clones and implications for early selection

Wood properties are important traits that determine quality of structural wood. With the aim of performing efficient early selection for wood properties we investigated genetic variation in 20 Larix kaempferi clones aged from 4 to 15 years for four quality traits: wood density, wall thickness to lumen area, microfibrillar angle(MFA) and modulus of elasticity(MOE). We observed that age-related trends in overall means varied for differen traits: MFA decreased with the age, while the others generally increased with the age. Phenotypic variance always showed significant differences from the age of 8 years onward, with CVG ranging from 4% to 25%. Also clonal repeatability increased steadily until 9 years old and then kept medium or higher intensity(0.4–0.8). After the age of 6, genetic correlations were generally higher than phenotypic correlations. Estimates of early selection efficiency suggested that the optimal selection age for wood density was at age 5–6 years, while it was 9–10 years for the other traits. In combination with previous results we proposed a comprehensive early selection strategy for larch clonal breeding that involved selection based on nursery rooting ability, phenology, growth traits, and wood properties.

Family selection and evaluation of Larix gmelinii var.principis-rupprechtii(Mayr.)Pilger based on stem analysis data at multiple sites

Larix gmelinii var.principis-rupprechtii(Mayr.)Pilger is an important native tree species in North China with advantages of fast growth,straight trunk,and good wood properties.The multi-year and multi-site breeding research of families of the species has not been reported previously.Based on diameter at breast height(DBH),height and volume of 25 families on four experimental sites,we calculated variance components,genetic parameters,juvenile and mature trait correlations and made genotype main effect plus genotype×environment interaction effect(GGE)biplot based on the breeding values estimated using the method of best linear unbiased prediction(BLUP).Compared with height,DBH and volume had higher heritability and larger variation coefficients,making them the more suitable traits for family selection and evaluation.Based on these,GGE biplots containing 20 combinations of site×age were drawn using data at 13 to 17 years when the interactions between family and location were strong.Test sites classifications based on DBH,and volume were inconsistent,with two categories for DBH and one for volume.The Guyuan site was the most suitable with strong discriminating ability,high representativeness and stability among tree ages.Integrating the ranking results of DBH and volume,families 66,76,82 and 111 were high-yielding and stable,families 78 and96 were high-yielding with above average stability,families72 and 79 were high-yielding with below average stability,whereas stability of family 100 was inconsistent between DBH and volume.Early selection based on DBH was convenient and reliable,and can be made at seven years.This study provides support for the selection of Larix gmelinii var.principis-rupprechtii families in Hebei province and an example for the application of stem analysis data from multiple sites in tree breeding.

Nursery Testing of Superior Tree Progeny of Cupressus funebris

[Objective] Breeding and genetic improvement for Cupressus funebris was performed based on the extensive genetic variation among provenances and fami- lies. [Method] The two-year-old Cupressus funebris, from 4 provenances and 34 superior Cupressus funebris families introduced from Chongqing and Qiandao Lake of Zhejiang Province, was used as test material, and the differences in growth traits among provenances and families at the seedling stage of Cupressus funebris were investigated. [Result] The height and ground diameter of seedlings differed signifi- cantly among provenances and families. Their variation coefficients among families were 11.37% and 18.89%, and among provenances were 7.25% and 12.58% re- spectively. [Conclusion] There was relatively rich genetic variation in height and ground diameter among provenances and families of Cupressus funebris. It has a certain breeding potential.

Growth Performance of Phoebe bournei Generations in Seedling Stage

[Objective] The aim was to explore growth performance of Phoebe bournei in seedling stage.[Method] Based on 17 superior plus trees of Phoebe bournei,a seedling cultivation test was conducted in Jindong Forest Farm in Yongzhou,Hunan Province,exploring growth indices and analyzing seedling height and ground diameter.[Result] As per the selection rate at 20％,PB17,PB9 and PB12 were selected from the 17 species.Specifically,the seedling height averaged 36.52 cm of the selected three seedlings,which was higher by 16.1％ compared with average of 17 species （31.45％）.As for ground diameter,the selected species averaged 2.6 mm,which was higher （13.0％） compared with the average level （2.3 mm）.[Conclusion]Both of seedling height and ground diameter reached extremely significant differences,which indicated that half-sib families of Phoebe bournei have rich variations,with selection and breeding potential.

The Preliminary Study on Juvenile-Mature Correlation of Pinus Koraiensis

Through studying seven analytic trecs from two stands of Pinus koraiensis artiticial forests. the results show thatthe individual variation coefticient of tree height. dbh and volume deereascs with age increasing after age of 25. Age of 25 isthe age that difference of individual growth is from acute difference to comparatively stability. The optimum selection age is25a for Pinus koraiensis s artiticial forests according to the analysis of juvenile-mature correlation and early selection efficiency.