Genetic variation for growth in a Eucalyptus pellita clonal population in Colombia

Abstract

Eucalyptus pellita is one of the most important species being planted in the wet tropical conditions of the Orinoquia region in Colombia. A breeding and clonal program for the species has been implemented since 1993.The results presented here report the genetics of growth based on a large number of E. pellita clones, which have been mass selected in a previous provenance trial. The results indicate a substantial genetic variation for height and diameter growth, with within site H2 ranging between 0.20 and 0.42 and with a pooled estimate (across sites) of 0.14 and 0.24 for height and diameter, respectively. The expected genetic gains in volume from selecting the best clones would be around 32% in volume, over the control seedling’s seedlot, a significantly larger gain compared with previous estimates from BLUP selection in progeny trials.