GENETIC PARAMETERS AND CORRELATIONS OF GROWTH AND WOOD PROPERTIES IN Peltophorum dubium

The performance and variability patterns in the wood element’s dimensions, specific gravity and growth parameters namely ramet height and GBH were evaluated in 16 clones of parents, F1 and F2 hybrids of Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh. Ramet radial variations were non-significant, while inter-clonal variations due to interaction of clone/replication were significant for all the wood traits except vessel element length. Inter-clonal variations were significant only for fiber length and fiber wall thickness. Fiber length and specific gravity were significantly higher in female, while wall thickness and vessel element length were higher in male clones. Female parents (G48 and S7C8) showed higher fiber length and specific gravity than of the male parent (G3), while vessel diameter and wall thickness were higher in male parent (G3). There is not much difference in fiber length and vessel element’s dimensions among the parents, F1 and F2 generation hybrid clones. Specific gravity did not showed any trend for parents, F1 and F2 generations. Generally female clones showed higher growth rate. Broad sense heritability for wood traits ranged from 0.143 (fiber length) to 0.505 (fiber wall thickness), while for growth traits it was 0.374 (GBH) and 0.418 (height). Genetic gain for all the wood and growth traits was positive for most of the wood traits. The highly divergent male clone (78) and female clones (S7C8, G48, W/A 49) in number of combinations could be used for developing new hybrids of desired wood traits to develop new clones.

Testes de procedência podem fornecer informações sobre o comportamento silvicultural e qualidade da madeira para a exploração da variabilidade e a conservação de material genético para usos futuros. Neste trabalho, objetivou-se estudar a variação radial da densidade básica e dimensões celulares da madeira de procedências de Cariniana legalis plantadas em Luiz Antonio SP. Mudas de três procedências (Porto Ferreira, Piracicaba e Campinas) foram plantadas em Luiz Antonio-SP, utilizando-se seis repetições em delineamento experimental de blocos casualizados. Após 26 anos do plantio, abateram-se dezoito árvores, seis de cada procedência. Foram estudadas a densidade básica e dimensões celulares da madeira. De acordo com os resultados, pode-se concluir que densidade básica, comprimento das fibras, espessura da parede das fibras, comprimento dos elementos de vaso, diâmetro de vasos, altura e largura de raios unisseriados foram influenciados pela procedência. Foi observada uma relação positiva entre comprimento das fibras, espessura da parede das fibras, comprimentos dos vasos, diâmetro dos vasos e altura de raios multisseriados com a posição radial e uma relação negativa entre a frequência de vasos com a posição radial.

The use of fertilization in forest stands results in yield gains, yet little attention has been directed to its potential effects on the quality of wood produced. Information is scarce about the effect of fertilization on anatomical structures of older Eucalyptus wood. This work aims to study the effect of fertilization on tissue cell size of wood from a Eucalyptus grandis stand at age 21 years, the management system of which is based on selective thinning and fertilizer application at the start of the thinning season. Factors to consider include: presence or absence of fertilizers, two log positions and five radial (pith to bark) positions. Results led to the conclusion that fertilization significantly influenced only vessel frequency. Vessel element length was influenced by tree height. Fiber length, fiber diameter, fiber wall thickness, vessel element length, vessel diameter and vessel frequency were influenced by the radial position of the sample in relation to the log. A positive correlation was observed between fiber length, fiber diameter, fiber wall thickness, vessel element length, vessel diameter, ray width and radial position, while a negative correlation was observed between ray frequency and radial position.

We studied the wood anatomy of 29 species belonging to 10 genera of the tribe Detarieae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae and compare them with tribe Caesalpinieae. Detarieae is the largest of four tribes of Caesalpinioideae, with 84 genera, only eleven occur in Venezuela with species of timber importance. The specimens were collected in Venezuela and include wood samples from the collection of the Laboratorio de Anatomía de Maderas de la Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales de la Universidad de Los Andes, Venezuela, and of the Forest Products Laboratory of the USDA Forest Service in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. The terminology and methodology used followed the IAWA List of Microscopic Features for Hardwood Identification of the IAWA Committee, 1989. Measurements from each specimen were averaged (vessel diameters, vessel element lengths, intervessels pit size, fibre lengths and ray height). The species of Detarieae can be separated using a combination of diagnostic features. Wood characters that provide the most important diagnosis and may be used in systematics of Detarieae include: intercellular axial canals, rays heterocellular, rays exclusively or predominantly uniseriate, prismatic crystals common in ray cells, irregular storied structure and fibre wall thickness. For comparative anatomy between Detarieae and Caesalpinieae: intercellular axial canals, heterocellular rays, rays exclusively or predominantly uniseriate, prismatic crystals common in ray cells (in Detarieae) and regular storied structure, fibres septate, fibre wall thick or very thick, rays homocellular, multiseriate rays and silica bodies (in Caesalpinieae). Axial parenchyma is typically a good diagnostic feature for Leguminosae, but not for Detarieae and Caesalpinieae comparisons.

Understanding the association between growth rate and wood properties is of practical importance to maximizing and sustaining wood and fiber production. Anatomical characteristics, specific gravity, and bending properties were determined at breast height for thirty 7-year-old trees with varying growth rates, from a red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.) plantation. Wood was sampled from the growth ring with a cambial age of 5 years. Growth varied from 2.0 to 9.3 mm/year (ring width), or 264 to 3350 mm 2 /year (ring area). We analyzed the relationship between growth rate, in terms of both annual ring width and area, and each wood property. Because both measures of growth rate yielded the same qualitative results, we only used ring width in our analyses. Regression analysis showed that growth rate had no effect on specific gravity, the modulus of elasticity in bending, the modulus of rupture in bending, fiber diameter, or the proportion of growth ring that was fiber or vessel. Fiber length, vessel diameter, and ray proportion, however, were positively correlated with growth rate. Fiber-wall thickness and axial parenchyma proportion decreased slightly with growth rate. The results indicate that the growth rate of A. rubra trees can be increased through silvicultural practices with few negative effects on wood and fiber quality, at least in the juvenile wood zone of the stem.

Adverse genetic correlations between growth traits and solid-wood, as well as fiber traits are a concern in conifer breeding programs. To evaluate the impact of selection for growth and solid-wood properties on fiber dimensions, we investigated the inheritance and efficiency of early selection for different wood-fiber traits and their correlations with stem diameter, wood density, modulus of elasticity (MOE), and microfibril angle (MFA) in Norway spruce (Picea abies L). The study was based on two large open-pollinated progeny trials established in southern Sweden in 1990 with material from 524 families comprising 5618 trees. Two increment cores were sampled from each tree. Radial variations from pith to bark were determined for rings 3–15 with SilviScan for fiber widths in the radial (RFW) and tangential (TFW) direction, fiber wall thickness (FWT), and fiber coarseness (FC). Fiber length (FL) was determined for rings 8–11. Heritabilities based on rings 8–11 using joint-site data were moderate to high (0.24–0.51) for all fiber-dimension traits. Heritabilities based on stem cross-sectional averages varied from 0.34 to 0.48 and reached a plateau at rings 6–9. The “age-age” genetic correlations for RFW, TFW, FWT, and FC cross-sectional averages at a particular age with cross-sectional averages at ring 15 reached 0.9 at rings 4–7. Our results indicated a moderate to high positive genetic correlation for density and MOE with FC and FWT, moderate and negative with RFW, and low with TFW and FL. Comparison of several selection scenarios indicated that the highest profitability is reached when diameter and MOE are considered jointly, in which case, the effect on any fiber dimension is negligible. Early selection was highly efficient from ring 5 for RFW and from rings 8–10 for TFW, FWT, and FC.

This study aims to understand the phenotypic and genotypic correlations among wood anatomical, physical, and mechanical properties of hybrid poplar clones. Samples were taken from seven clones grown on three sites in Southern Quebec, Canada. Five trees per clone were randomly sampled from each site to measure anatomical (fiber length, fiber proportion, vessel proportion, fiber wall thickness, tension wood), physical (basic density, volumetric, longitudinal, tangential, and radial shrinkage), and mechanical wood properties (flexural modulus of elasticity (MOE), modulus of rupture (MOR), ultimate crushing strength parallel to the grain). The observed phenotypic and genotypic correlations between these wood properties were moderate to strong, except for fiber length and vessel proportion. Genotypic correlations for all wood properties were higher than for corresponding phenotypic correlations. Furthermore, fiber length showed weak correlations, whereas, vessel proportion showed strongly negative correlations with all other properties. Strong correlations were also found among fiber proportion, fiber wall thickness, basic density, and mechanical properties. Furthermore, results from this study show close genotypic and phenotypic correlations between fiber proportion, fiber wall thickness, and wood density, which consequently affect the mechanical performance of wood products. These findings indicate that there is a substantial opportunity to improve wood quality by selecting several wood properties for different end uses.

This study reports on radial variations of anatomical parameters of aerial roots Ficus bengalensis (Thandlu) such as fibre length, fibre diameter, fibre lumen diameter, fibre wall thickness, vessel element length, vessel diameter and vessel frequency. Certain important physical and mechanical properties of Thandlu wood such as equilibrium moisture content (EMC), specific gravity, density, flexural strength (modulus of rupture-MOR), flexural stiffness (modulus of elasticity-MOE), compressive strength parallel to grain (maximum compressive stress-MCS), compressive strength perpendicular to grain and surface hardness were also investigated. Average air-dry density of Thandlu wood was found to be 537.6 ± 91.4 kg/m 3 . Moreover, specific gravity exhibited increasing trend from pith to periphery and average values were found to be correlated with anatomical properties. Radial variations of anatomical parameters were observed to be significant. Fibre lumen diameter was negatively correlated while fibre wall thickness was positively correlated with density. Similarly, vessel element length was positively correlated with fibre length and fibre lumen diameter was found to be positively correlated with the fibre diameter. The physical and mechanical properties in air-dry condition of Thandlu wood were compared with Tectona grandis (Teak) wood. Naturally having long cylindrical shape, light to moderately heavy wood and moderate to strong mechanical parameters of Thandlu in dry condition, their traditional applications in different areas are well supported by the observations made in the present study.

As in other countries, In Brazil, new genetic materials of Eucalyptus spp. and their hybrids are multiplied through cloning. These materials, currently in experimental trials, must undergo several stages to select the best ones for pulp and paper production. Therefore, new studies on wood quality are essential. Therefore, this study aimed to group 11 clones of Eucalyptus spp. wood, from a clonal plantation in the municipality of Palmital, São Paulo State, for the production of paper and cellulose. For this purpose, four trees of each clone of 4-year-old Eucalyptus spp. were collected. From each tree, a log of 1 m in length was taken from the base of the tree, for the study of the characterization of the basic density and cellular dimensions of the wood. The results showed that there were significant differences between clones for basic density, fiber length, vessel element length and fiber wall thickness. The Runkel ratio, wall fraction and stiffness coefficient did not show significant differences between the different genotypes. From the results obtained, we can conclude that clones can be differentiated only by basic density, fiber length, vessel element length and fiber wall thickness. The Runkel index, flexibility coefficient and wall fraction of Eucalyptus spp. were more efficient to group the clones into two groups.

The xylem-maturation process and the effects of radial growth rate on anatomical characteristics (vessel and fibre morphologies) and wood properties (basic density and compressive strength parallel to grain) were studied for 4-year-old Azadirachta excelsa planted in Indonesia. Mean values were 121 µm, 8.1 vessels/mm2, 16 µm, 1.4 µm, 0.33 mm, 0.98 mm, 0.40 g/cm3, and 27.3 MPa for vessel diameter (VD), vessel frequency, fibre diameter, fibre wall thickness, vessel element length, wood fibre length, basic density, and compressive strength parallel to the grain at green condition, respectively. With a few exceptions, no significant correlations were found between the stem diameter and the anatomical characteristics or wood properties, indicating that radial growth rate does not always affect the characteristics and properties of this species. On the other hand, almost the same radial variation patterns in VD were found in trees of a different stem diameter, suggesting that xylem maturation in this species might depend on diameter growth rather than cambial age.

The variable environmental conditions of the Amazon forest can affect the wood properties of the tree species distributed across its diverse phytophysiognomies. Carapa guianensis (Andiroba) occurs in upland and floodplain forests, and the wood and oil of its seeds have multiple uses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the wood properties of C. guianensis trees in upland and estuarine floodplain forests of the Amazon River. Eight trees were selected, with four being from the upland and four from the floodplain forests. The fiber length, fiber wall thickness, vessel diameter and frequency, microfibril angle, specific gravity and wood shrinkage were evaluated. The juvenile and mature wood zones were determined according to these variables. The fiber length, fiber wall thickness and specific gravity increased, and microfibril angle decreased, in the pith to bark direction. Only the fiber length variable was efficient for delimiting juvenile, transition and mature wood. The fiber length, wall thickness and specific gravity of wood were higher in upland forest trees. However, the environment did not alter the beginning of the formation and proportion of C. guianensis mature wood. This information is important for the log fit in cutting diagrams, aiming toward improving the production, classification and processing of pieces with specific quality indexes in order to direct them to appropriate wood uses.

Inheritance pattern of wood traits viz. specific gravity, fibre dimensions and fibre-derived biometrical indices and their interactions among themselves and with that of growth are reported in Hevea brasiliensis. Girth (h2 = − 0.02 ± 0.44 to h2 = 0.35 ± 0.24) showed moderate genetic control. Among wood traits, specific gravity (h2 = 0.15 ± 0.31 to h2 = 0.33 ± 0.28) was found to be under moderate genetic control. Fibre traits viz., fibre length (h2 = − 0.26 ± 0.30 to h2 = 0.50 ± 0.34), fibre diameter (h2 = 0.19 ± 0.49 to h2 = 0.70 ± 0.11), fibre lumen diameter (h2 = − 0.18 ± 0.35 to h2 = 0.56 ± 0.47) and fibre wall thickness (h2 = − 5.17 ± 5.26 to h2 = 0.50 ± 0.50) were under moderate to strong genetic control. Among fibre-derived indices, flexibility coefficient (h2 = 0.48 ± 0.21 to h2 = 0.89 ± 0.29) showed moderate to very strong genetic control. The Runkel ratio (h2 = − 0.40 ± 0.27 to h2 = 0.42 ± 0.29) and slenderness ratio (h2 = − 0.36 ± 0.29 to h2 = 0.43 ± 0.28) showed moderate genetic control. Girth showed very strong positive genetic correlation with fibre wall thickness and strong positive correlation with fibre width indicating scope of indirect selection potential for these traits. Wood specific gravity was not correlated with either girth or fibre traits. Hence, it would be possible to concomitantly improve growth and fibre traits without adversely affecting wood specific gravity. Moderate to very high estimates of heritability for fibre traits, girth and specific gravity indicated that considerable genetic gain can be realised for these traits. Implications of the above findings in genetic improvement of wood in Hevea are discussed.

본 연구는 4개 종자산지(Yugoslovia, ltaly, United Kingdom, Bulgaria)의 글로티노사오리나무(Alnus glutinosa)를 대상으로 목섬유 길이, 도관 길이 및 직경인 해부학적 성질을 조사하여, 이들의 종자산지 간 및 생장속도와의 관계를 규명하였다. 글로티노사오리나무는 산공재, 계단상천공, 교호상벽공으로 나타났다. 접선단면에서 방사조직 높이는 9~11, 횡단면에서 방사조직 수는 16~26개로 나타났다. 산지 간의 목섬유 길이, 도관 길이 및 직경에서 만재부에서는 차이가 없었고, 조재부에서는 차이가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 3개 산지는 생장이 좋을수록 만재부의 목섬유 및 도관 길이가 짧아지는 것으로 나타났으나, 유고슬로비아산은 생장이 좋으면서 목섬유 및 도관길이도 긴 것으로 나타났다. In this study, relationship between seed origin and growth rate of Alnus glutinosa from different seed collection (Yugoslovia, ltaly, United Kingdom, Bulgaria) was investigated with focused on anatomical properties as wood fiber length, vessel element length and diameter. Alnus glutinosa showed diffuse-porous wood with scalariform perforation in alternate pitting. Ray height was 9~11 in tangential section and ray number were 16~26 in cross section. There were no differences on latewood focused on wood fiber length, length and diameter of vessel element, but difference on earlywood. Other than Yugoslavian seed, there was better growth rate with shorter wood fiber and vessel element length on latewood. However, seed from Yugoslovain showed better growth rate with longer wood fiber and vessel element length than other 3 seed orgins.

We studied two clones of Eucalypturograndis hybrid (Eucalyptus grandis × E. urophylla), GR283 and GR330, grown in Tumkur district of Karnataka (India), and felled 5–6 years old three trees of each clone. We recorded axial variations in heartwood content, bark properties, wood density and anatomical characteristics of wood including fibre length, fibre diameter, fibre wall thickness, lumen diameter, vessel frequency, vessel diameter and vessel element length. Clone GR283 had about 10 % heartwood, significantly lower than for clone GR330 (37 %). Basic wood density along the tree height varied significantly within and between the clones. We observed significant variations in fibre length, fibre diameter and wall thickness within and between the two clones. Vessel frequency and vessel element length did not vary but vessel diameter differed significantly between the clones. With a greater proportion of sapwood, clone GR283 can be utilized for paper and pulp applications. Clone GR330 had a higher proportion of heartwood and lower wood density and, hence, is more suitable for light-weight material applications.

Provenance variation and genetic parameters for wood properties of mature radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) were studied by sampling three provenance/progeny trials in southeast Australia. Among the mainland provenances, Monterey and Ano Nuevo had higher density and modulus of elasticity (at one site) than Cambria. Basic density and predicted modulus of elasticity (MoE) for the island provenances, Guadalupe and Cedros, were ∼20% higher at Billapaloola compared to mainland provenances grown at Green Hills and Salicki, differences that may or may not be linked to site differences. Heritability estimates of density, predicted MoE and microfibril angle were significant and \( {\bar{h}^2} \) > 0.45, suggesting moderate to strong genetic control. The estimated genetic correlations between diameter at breast height and wood properties in the current study were weaker (less negative) than the mean estimated from the current breeding population generation in radiata pine. Of the wood properties, density showed the strongest adverse genetic correlations with growth (mean rA = −0.23 ± 0.09). Selection for MoE may produce greater gain than selection for density because MoE had almost twice the estimated additive genetic coefficient of variation (\( {\overline {\text{CV}}_A} \)) compared to density. Estimated type B genetic correlations (rB) for all wood quality traits were typically high, conforming to the trend that wood properties have low genotype-by-environment interaction (G × E). Significant differences in wood properties among provenances, families and/or individual trees provide an opportunity for breeding programmes to select superior trees for solid wood production that will combine superior growth with desirable wood traits.