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

Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering

Chao SUN, Meng LAI, Shougong ZHANG, Xiaomei SUN¹ 

[1] 1. Key Laboratory of Tree Breeding and Cultivation of State Forestry Administration, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China;

关键词: early selection|genetic variation|wood properties|SilviScan|Larix kaempferi;   

DOI  :  10.15302/J-FASE-2017184

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

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 different 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.

【 授权许可】

Unknown