Abstract
Eucalyptus has become an important genus in China because it displays adaptability to a wide range of site conditions and produces pulp wood and veneer on short rotations. The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters and relationships and consider implications for development of clonal forestry. We assessed growth traits, stem–branch characteristics, crown diameter and height of fresh branch for 20 Eucalyptus hybrid clones in China measured at the age of 44 months. Analysis of variance showed that there were significant differences in growth traits, height of fresh branch and stem straightness among clones. Significant differences in height, volume, crown diameter, height of fresh branch and branch size among replicates were also recorded. Coefficients of variation ranged from 9.84 to 28.54 % for growth traits, 12.03 to 17.25 % for stem–branch characteristics, 18.26 % for crown diameter and 11.73 % for height of fresh branch. Estimates of repeatabilities for height, diameter at breast height over bark, volume, crown diameter, height of fresh branch, stem straightness and branch size at clone mean level were 0.86, 0.80, 0.80, 0.54, 0.85, 0.77 and 0.44 respectively. Diameter at breast height over bark and height had strongly positive phenotypic and genotypic correlations with volume, ranging from 0.96 to 1.00. The positive genotypic and phenotypic correlations between growth traits and other studied traits suggested that fast growing clones always had bigger crown diameter, higher height of fresh branch, straighter stems and relatively smaller branches.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Prof. K. Harding and RE. Pegg for suggestions and corrections to improve early drafts of this manuscript. We thank Dr. Siming Gan and Dr. Jie Zeng for their suggestions and help. Comments from anonymous reviewers are also appreciated.
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Project funding: This study was finically supported by the National Twelfth Five-Year Science and Technology Plan “Breeding of High yield and High Resistance New Species of Eucalyptus” (2012BAD01B0401), “Genetic Research of Pulp Yield and Veneer of Eucalyptus urophylla Hybrid Clones” (RITFYWZX201304).
The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com
Corresponding editor: Hu Yanbo
Shijun Wu and Zhaohua Lu have equally contributed to this work.
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Wu, S., Lu, Z., Xu, J. et al. Genetic variation in growth traits and stem–branch characteristics and their relationships to Eucalyptus clones. J. For. Res. 26, 957–962 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-015-0092-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-015-0092-2