Evaluation of high resin yielders of Pinus pinaster Ait

The resin yield superiority of 51 selected high resin yielding candidate trees of Pinus pinaster Ait. in Central Spain, was evaluated over two years. The resin yield of each selected individual was compared to the yield of 10 control trees. Micro-chipping evaluations were carried out in a clonal bank to determine the clonal heritability and the correlation between the resin yield of the ortets and their ramets. The selection of candidate trees in the forest was quite effective, in comparison to that of the control trees (average production of 7.2 kg/tree/year in selected trees, 3.7 kg/tree/year in control trees). The candidate trees had slight differences in diameter, height, crown size and tree stocking when compared to control trees. However, there was no correlation between resin yield superiority and any of these morphological traits. Trees were selected over the large area in the forest and, to standardise the resin yield under different ecological conditions, the selection intensity of each candidate tree with respect to its ten control trees was computed. Eleven candidate trees (21%) yielded a selection intensity of over 3.3 (one tree selected from more than 800 trees) out of which three obtained a selection intensity greater than 4 (1 in 10,000 trees). In terms of actual resin production, ten trees produced more than 10 kg/tree/year, out of which one tree produced 25.1 kg/year. Strong correlation was recorded between the selection intensity and resin yield of the high yielders, indicating the superiority of the candidate trees, but not with the mean production of the control trees. A moderate correlation r = 0,63) was recorded between the resin yield of the otters with their micro-chipped clones, and high clonal heritability (h2 = 0.5) was obtained. These results indicate that the obtained high selection intensity of the high yielding trees was strongly influenced by genetic factors, and therefore, indicate the possibility of breeding for this trait in Pinus pinaster.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Tadesse, W., Nanos, N., Auñon, F. J., Alía, R., Gil, L.
Format:	journal article biblioteca
Language:	eng
Published:	2002
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12792/4424
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