Quantitative Trait Inheritance in a Forty-Year-Old Longleaf Pine Partial Diallel Test

Abstract

A longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) 13 parent partial diallel field experiment was established at two locations on the Harrison Experimental Forest in 1960. Parent trees were randomly selected from a natural population growing on the Harrison Experimental Forest, near Gulfport, Miss. Distance between trees chosen as parents ranged from 13 to 357 m. Following planting, brown-spot needle blight was controlled through the application of Bordeaux mixture three times per year for three years and competing vegetation was controlled with cultivation and mowing, resulting in good initial survival (first year survival was 94%) and early emergence from the grass stage (mean height at age 5 was 3.7 m). Analyses of genetic parameters for ages one through seven were reported by Snyder and Namkoong (1978) and results for age 17 were analyzed by Rousseau (1980). At age 40, the trees averaged 24.1 m (79.1 ft) tall with a dbh of 26.8 cm (10.6 in) and had a survival rate of 48%. Basal area across the two plantations averaged 23.4 m²/ha (102 ft²/ac). Measurements for ages 7, 17, 30, and 40 were analyzed for this report.

Citation

Stine, Michael; Roberds, Jim; Nelson, C. Dana; Gwaze, David P.; Shupe, Todd; Groom, Les. 2002. Quantitative Trait Inheritance in a Forty-Year-Old Longleaf Pine Partial Diallel Test. In: Gardiner, Emile S.; Breland, Lynn J. eds.. Proceedings of the IUFRO conference on restoration of boreal and temperate forests; 2002 April 29-May 02; Vejle, DK.; Frederiksberg, DK: Rep. 11. Danish Centre for Forest Landscape and Planning: 145-146.