Abstract
Wood stiffness is an important wood mechanical property that predetermines the suitability of sawn timber for construction purposes. Negative genetic correlations between wood stiffness and growth traits have, however, been reported for many conifer species including Scots pine. It is, therefore, important that breeding programs consider wood stiffness and growth traits simultaneously. The study aims to (1) evaluate different approaches of calculating the dynamic modulus of elasticity (MOE, non-destructively assessed stiffness) using data from X-ray analysis (SilviScan) as a benchmark, (2) estimate genetic parameters, and (3) apply index selection. In total, we non-destructively measured 622 standing trees from 175 full-sib families for acoustic velocity (VEL) using Hitman and for wood density (DEN) using Resistograph and Pilodyn. We combined VEL with different wood densities, raw (DENRES) and adjusted (DENRES.TB) Resistograph density, Pilodyn density measured with (DENPIL) and without bark (DENPIL.B), constant of 1000 kg·m−3 (DENCONST), and SilviScan density (DENSILV), to calculate MOEs and compare them with the benchmark SilviScan MOE (MOESILV). We also derived Smith–Hazel indices for simultaneous improvement of stem diameter (DBH) and wood stiffness. The highest additive genetic and phenotypic correlations of the benchmark MOESILV with the alternative MOE measures (tested) were attained by MOEDENSILV (0.95 and 0.75, respectively) and were closely followed by MOEDENRES.TB (0.91 and 0.70, respectively) and MOEDENCONST and VEL (0.91 and 0.65, respectively for both). Correlations with MOEDENPIL, MOEDENPIL.B, and MOEDENRES were lower. Narrow-sense heritabilities were moderate, ranging from 0.39 (MOESILV) to 0.46 (MOEDENSILV). All indices revealed an opportunity for joint improvement of DBH and MOE. Conclusions: MOEDENRES.TB appears to be the most efficient approach for indirect selection for wood stiffness in Scots pine, although VEL alone and MOEDENCONST have provided very good results too. An index combining DBH and MOEDENRES.TB seems to offer the best compromise for simultaneous improvement of growth, fiber, and wood quality traits.
Highlights
Wood is a versatile, renewable, and environmentally sustainable material with a wide range of utilization
An index combining diameter at breast height (DBH) and MOEDENRES.TB seems to offer the best compromise for simultaneous improvement of growth, fiber, and wood quality traits
Range and mean of MOEDENSILV utilizing wood density estimated by SilviScan technology were similar to those of MOEDENRES and MOEDENRES.TB that applied density estimated based on drilling resistance measured by Resistograph, and MOEDENPIL that used density as the reciprocal depth of Pilodyn penetration measured with bark
Summary
Renewable, and environmentally sustainable material with a wide range of utilization. It has been used as a building material for thousands of years as it provides good insulation, has good machinability, and is exceptionally strong in proportion to its weight [1]. A non-permanent deformation of a sample when a load is applied, represents an important wood mechanical parameter that predetermines the suitability of sawn boards for construction purposes [2]. Since utilization of wood for construction is foreseen to remain important in the future [3], inclusion of wood stiffness into breeding programs appears to be inevitable. A reliable technique suitable for rapid screening of large numbers of trees is needed It is crucial for species that exhibit adverse negative correlations between growth and stiffness, as the traditional emphasis on volume maximization has been found to result in stiffness degradation, e.g., [4,5,6,7].
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