Inheritance of growth and survival in two 9-year-old, open-pollinated progenies of an advanced breeding population of Chinese firs in southeastern China

• DOI: 10.1007/s11676-016-0250-1
• Publication Date: 2016-05-01T23:52:49Z
• Authors: Renhua Zheng; Zhou Hong; Shunde Su; Liming Bian; Hui Xiao; Jisen Shi; Harry X. Wu
• Keywords: Seed orchard; Genetic gain; Genetic correlation; Tree breeding; Open pollination; Tree (set theory)

Tree growth traits (tree height, DBH and stem volume) and survival from two 9-year-old, open-pollinated progeny tests of Chinese fir were investigated for heritability, genotype × environment interaction, age-age genetic correlation and selection efficiency. The 97 and 79 families planted at two sites were collected from the third-cycle seed orchard. Individual heritability was estimated between 0.05 and 0.21 for tree height, DBH, and volume and between 0.45 and 1.0 for survival. Family heritability was between 0.20 and 1.14. Significant genotype × environment interaction was observed for the three growth traits. Type B genetic correlation was between 0.41 and 0.67 with an increasing trend as tree grows. High age-age genetic correlation was observed with correlation reaching 0.9 after age 4 for height, DBH, and volume. The genetic gains were estimated at 3.26, 3.39 and 5.98 % for tree height, DBH, and volume with 10 % selection intensity. The implication for advanced tree breeding in Chinese fir is discussed.