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Genetic variation for early flowering, survival and growth in sugar gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx F. Muell) in southern Atacama Desert

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the genetic control of time-to-flowering (precocity) in 39 open-pollinated families of Eucalyptus cladocalyx in southern Atacama Desert, Chile, with the view to the selection of trees that flower earlier but with minimal impact on survival and growth. A Bayesian approach, implemented using Gibbs sampling algorithm, was used in data analyses. Precocity was assessed as a binary response at age three and was found to be highly heritable. The estimates of posterior mean and of the 95% posterior interval of the heritability were 0.51 and [0.46–0.56], respectively. Estimated genetic gain ranged from 36.15 to 41.22% (selection intensities of 14.29 and 7.48%, respectively). Total height, basal diameter and survival (measured at age 5) had a positive and relatively moderate genetic correlation with early flowering (r = 0.23, 0.29 and 0.11, respectively) indicating that selection for early flowering alone would have a moderate impact on growth and survival. Early flowering of Eucalyptus cladocalyx was found to be highly heritable in southern Atacama Desert populations, which could be used to improve the honey production in situations where flowers from native species are not available in sufficient quantities.

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Abbreviations

D:

Diameter

EF:

Early flowering

GD:

Genetic diversity

GG%:

Predicted genetic advance

H:

Height

MCMC:

Monte-Carlo Markov Chain

NSF :

Number of selected families

S:

Survival

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Acknowledgements

The financial support for this work was provided by the Development and Innovation Fund of the Chilean Ministry of Economy. We thank farmers of the rural community of Tunga Norte. CSIRO Australian Tree Seed Centre kindly provided seeds of the Australian population used in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad de Concepción, Victoria 631, Barrio Universitario, Concepción, Chile

    Freddy Mora

  2. School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia

    Roslyn Gleadow

  3. Instituto de Investigación Forestal, Ministerio de Agricultura de Chile, Huérfanos 554, Santiago, Chile

    Sandra Perret

  4. Departamento de Agronomia, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Av. Colombo, 5790, 87020-900, Maringa, PR, Brazil

    Carlos Alberto Scapim

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  1. Freddy Mora
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  4. Carlos Alberto Scapim
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Correspondence to Freddy Mora.

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Mora, F., Gleadow, R., Perret, S. et al. Genetic variation for early flowering, survival and growth in sugar gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx F. Muell) in southern Atacama Desert. Euphytica 169, 335–344 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-009-9962-z

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