Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Relationships between early growth and Quambalaria shoot blight tolerance in Corymbia citriodora progeny trials established in Queensland, Australia

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Tree Genetics & Genomes Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The fungal pathogen Quambalaria pitereka can cause significant damage to spotted gum (Corymbia sp.) plantations in Australia. A series of seven progeny trials, involving seed from a range-wide collection from 527 individuals within 25 native populations of Corymbia citriodora sub-species variegata, were assessed for height growth and damage from Quambalaria around 1 year after planting. Infection at this young age has been found to detrimentally impact growth, form, and wood quality for many years. Genetic variance was found to be significant at both the provenance and family level. However, selection of families within provenances should lead to greater levels of genetic gain than what can be realized from selecting among provenances as estimates of additive genetic variance were consistently greater than estimates of variance among populations. Strong relationships between height and Quambalaria shoot blight (QSB) damage assessments in these trials were evidenced by very high genetic correlations between the traits; therefore, selection for any of these traits could be used to identify more productive and QSB-tolerant populations. While both provenances and families were found to interact with the trial environments at a similar level across traits, genetic correlations indicated that rankings for growth were be less stable than rankings for QSB tolerance across environments. Genetic parameter estimates derived from general and generalized linear models were very similar and either analytical method could be used to evaluate fungal damage.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • ABARE (2008) Australian forest and wood products statistics Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Canberra, Australia

  • Baltunis BS, Martin TA, Huber DA, Davis JM (2008) Inheritance of foliar stable carbon isotope discrimination and third-year height in Pinus taeda clones on contrasting sites in Florida and Georgia. Tree Genetics and Genomes 4:797–807

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brawner JT, Bush DJ, Macdonell PF, Warburton PM, Clegg PA (2010) Genetic parameters of red mahogany breeding populations grown in the tropics. Aust For 73:993–999

    Google Scholar 

  • Carnegie AJ (2007a) Forest health condition in New South Wales, Australia, 1996–2005. I. Fungi recorded from forest health surveys. Australas Plant Pathol 36:213–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carnegie AJ (2007b) Forest health condition in New South Wales, Australia, 1996–2005. II. Fungal damage recorded in eucalypt plantations during forest health surveys and their management. Australas Plant Pathol 36:225–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carnegie AJ, Johnson IG, Henson M (2004) Variation among provenances and families of blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis) in early growth and susceptibility to damage from leaf spot fungi. Can J For Res 34:2314–2326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comstock RE, Moll RH (1963) Genotype-environment interactions. Statistical genetics and plant breeding 164–194 National Academy of Sciences publication 982, Washington DC, USA

  • Costa e Silva J, Borralho NMG, Potts BM (2004) Additive and non-additive genetic parameters from clonally replicated and seedling progenies of Eucalyptus globulus. Theor Appl Genet 108:1113–1119

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Costa e Silva J, Borralho NMG, Araujo JA, Vaillancourt RE, Potts BM (2009) Genetic parameters for growth, wood density and pulp yield in Eucalyptus globulus. Tree Genetics and Genomes 5:291–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickinson GR, Lee DJ, Huth JR (2004) Early plantation growth and tolerance to Ramularia Shoot Blight of provenances of the spotted gums taxa on a range of sites in southern Queensland. Aust For 67:122–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Dieters MJ, White TL, Littell RC, Hodge GR (1995) Application of approximate variances of variance components and their ratios in genetic tests. Theor Appl Genet 91:15–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dungey HS, Potts BM, Carnegie AJ, Ades PK (1997) Mycosphaerella leaf disease: Genetic variation in damage to Eucalyptus nitens, E. globulus and their F1 hybrid. Can J For Res 27:750–759

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eldridge K, Davidson J, Harwood C, van Wyk G (1993) Eucalypt domestication and breeding. Clarendon, Oxford UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Gavran M, Parsons M (2009) Australia’s Plantations 2009 Inventory Update, National Forest Inventory, Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra, Australia

  • Gilmour AR, Anderson RD, Rae AL (1985) The analysis of binomial data by a generalized linear mixed model. Biometrika 72:593–599

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilmour AR, Gogel BJ, Cullis BR, Thompson R (2009) ASReml User Guide Release 3.0. VSN International Ltd, Hemel Hempstead, UK

  • Griffin AR, Cotterill PP (1988) Genetic variation in growth of outcrossed, selfed and open-pollinated progenies of Eucalyptus regnans and some implications for breeding strategy. Silvae Genet 37:124–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodge GR, Dvorak WS (1999) Genetic parameters and provenance variation of Pinus tecunumanii in 78 international trials. For Genet 6:157–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodge GR, Dvorak WS (2001) Genetic parameters and provenance variation of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis in 48 international trials. Can J For Res 31:496–511

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodge GR, Dvorak WS (2004) The Camcore international provenance/progeny trials of Gmelina arborea: genetic parameters and potential. New For 28:147–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodge GR, White TL (1992) Genetic parameter estimates for growth traits at different ages in slash pine and some implications for breeding. Silvae Genet 41:252–262

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodge GR, Wiyojo FS, Dvorak WS (2001) Early results of Eucalyptus urophylla provenance/progeny trials in Colombia and Venezuela. In: Developing the Eucalypt of the Future, Proceedings, IUFRO Working Party 2.08.03, Valdivia, Chile, September 2001

  • Jeffrey SJ, Carter JO, Moodie KM, Beswick AR (2001) Using spatial interpolation to construct a comprehensive archive of Australian climate data. Environ Modell Softw 16:309–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson IG, Arnold RJ (2000) Eucalyptus dunnii provenance-family trials in Northern New-South Wales—age three assessment. State Forests of New South Wales Research Paper No.37

  • Johnson IG, Carnegie AJ, Henson M (2009) Growth, form and Quambalaria Shoot Blight tolerance of spotted gums in North-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Silvae Genet 58(4):180–191

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawson SA, McDonald JM, Pegg GS (2008) Forest health surveillance methodology in hardwood plantations in Queensland, Australia. Aust For 71:177–181

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee DJ (2007) Achievements in forest tree improvement in Australia and New Zealand 2: development of Corymbia species and hybrids for plantations in eastern Australia. Aust For 70:11–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee DJ, Brawner JT, Pomroy P (2004) Genetic variation in early growth and disease tolerance of Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata in Southern Queensland, Australia. International IUFRO Conference of the SP2.08.03 on Silviculture and Improvement of Eucalypts, October 2004, pp 185–186

  • Lee DJ, Huth JR, Brawner J, Dickinson GR (2009) Comparative performance of Corymbia hybrids and parental species in subtropical Queensland and implications for breeding and deployment. Silvae Genet 58:205–212

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee DJ, Huth JR, Osborne DO, Hogg BW (2010) Selecting Hardwood Taxa for Wood and Fibre Production in Queensland’s Subtropics. Aust For 73:106–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Loehle C, Namkoong G (1987) Constraints on tree breeding—growth tradeoffs, growth strategies and defensive investments. For Sci 33(4):1089–1097

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald MW, Bean AR (2000) A new combination in Corymbia ‘section Politaria’: C. citriodora subsp. variegata (Myrtaceae). Austrobaileya 5:735–736

    Google Scholar 

  • McKeand SE, Allen HL (2004) Silviculture and genetic impacts on productivity of loblolly pine in the southern United States. Proceedings, IUFRO Conference “Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding in the Age of Genomics; Progress and Future”, Charleston S.C., USA, November 2004. pp 373–384

  • McKeand SE, Jokela EJ, Huber DA, Byram TD, Allen HL, Li BL, Mullin TJ (2006) Performance of improved genotypes of loblolly pine across different soils, climates, and silvicultural inputs. For Ecol Manage 227:178–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery DC (1997) Design and analysis of experiments, 4th edn. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Nichols JD, Smith G.R.B, Glencross K, Grant J (2008) Subtropical eucalypt plantations in Australia: a new opportunity and challenge. Australian Forest Growers Conference, Albury Australia, pp 96–101

  • Nikles DG (1996) The first 50 years of the evolution of forest tree improvement in Queensland. Tree Improvement for Sustainable Tropical Forestry. Proc. QFRI-IUFRO Conf., Caloundra, Queensland, Australia. November 1996 pp. 51–64

  • Parra-O C, Bayly MJ, Drinnan A, Udovicic F, Ladiges P (2009) Phylogeny, major clades and infrageneric classification of Corymbia (Myrtaceae), based on nuclear ribosomal DNA and morphology. Aust Syst Bot 22:384–399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pegg GS, Drenth A, Wingfield MJ (2005) Quambalaria pitereka on spotted gum plantations in Queensland and northern New South Wales, Australia. Int For Rev 7:337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pegg GS, Dwyer CO, Carnegie AJ, Burgess TI, Wingfield MJ, Drenth A (2008) Quambalaria species associated with plantation and native eucalypts in Australia. Plant Pathol 57:702–714

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pegg GS, Carnegie AJ, Wingfield MJ, Drenth A (2009a) Quambalaria species: increasing threat to eucalypt plantations in Australia. South For 71:111–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Pegg GS, Webb RI, Carnegie AJ, Wingfield MJ, Drenth A (2009b) Infection and disease development of Quambalaria spp. on Corymbia and Eucalyptus species. Plant Pathol 58:642–654

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Self NM, Aitken EAB, Dale MD (2002) Susceptibility of provenances of spotted gum to ramularia Shoot Blight. New Zealand Plant Prot 55:68–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Sierra-Lucero V, McKeand SE, Huber DA, Rockwood DL, White TL (2002) Performance differences and genetic parameters for four coastal provenances of loblolly pine in the southeastern United States. For Sci 48:732–742

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone C, Simpson JA, Eldridge RH (1998) Insect and fungal damage to young eucalypt trial plantings in Northern New South Wales. Aust For 61:7–20

    Google Scholar 

  • White TL, Adams WT, Neale DB (2007) Forest genetics. CABI, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the QLD government for supporting the establishment, maintenance, and assessment of these field trials, and specifically for the research grant from the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation that provided the financial support for the Smart Forest Alliance. The contributions of John Huth, Alan Ward, and a host of other individuals involved with the establishment of these trials and the collection of data are gratefully acknowledged. The comments of Heidi Dungey, Brian Baltunis, and Shannon Dillon helped to greatly improve this manuscript. The lead author is especially grateful to Rowland Burdon for his excellent editorial comments and suggestions on improving this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO—Plant Industry, 306 Carmody Road, St. Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia

    Jeremy T. Brawner

  2. The School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Jeremy T. Brawner, Craig M. Hardner & Mark J. Dieters

  3. Science, Health and Education Faculty, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, QLD, 4558, Australia

    David J. Lee

  4. Department of Employment Economic Development and Innovation, Horticulture and Forestry Science, Locked Bag 16 Fraser Road, Gympie, QLD, 4570, Australia

    David J. Lee

Authors
  1. Jeremy T. Brawner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David J. Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Craig M. Hardner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mark J. Dieters
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeremy T. Brawner.

Additional information

Communicated by: R. Burdon

Appendix

Appendix

Table 8 Connectivity at provenance and progeny levels within trials established to evaluate CCV populations in southeast QLD
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Brawner, J.T., Lee, D.J., Hardner, C.M. et al. Relationships between early growth and Quambalaria shoot blight tolerance in Corymbia citriodora progeny trials established in Queensland, Australia. Tree Genetics & Genomes 7, 759–772 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-011-0372-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-011-0372-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation