The effect of fertilization on genetic parameters in Picea abies clones in central Sweden and consequences for breeding and deployment

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of repeated fertilizer application on the genetic parameters of Norway spruce. Genetic and environmental variances of growth and phenological traits were estimated to find differences between fertilized and control treatments in broad sense heritability and accuracy of estimated genotypic value. Furthermore, genotype×environment interactions (GxE) between the two treatments were investigated. Two Norway spruce clonal field trials in central Sweden were subjected to both treatments and were measured at various points in time up to a field age of 15years, to monitor the effects of fertilization. For growth traits, trees in the fertilized treatment exhibited lower environmental variance than those in the non-fertilized treatment; consequently, fertilization yielded higher heritability and greater accuracy of estimated genotypic value. Furthermore, the GxE increased as the effects of fertilization became more pronounced; the genetic correlation between treatments dropped to around 0.5 in the last measured growth period. For phenological traits, no GxE but a slight increase in heritability of prolepsis on the leader shoot was found. The results from this study show that, for the conditions encountered in central Sweden, Norway spruce clones should be tested and selected under the conditions in which they are to be deployed. If repeated fertilizer application is to be adopted under operational conditions, substantial losses in genetic gain for growth can be expected when using current selected clones due to the induced GxE. While the fertilized treatment yielded a higher heritability and accuracy of estimated genotypic value for growth traits than did the control, the Swedish Norway spruce breeding program will not benefit from fertilizing genetic field trials because the increased accuracy of estimated genotypic value is nullified by the GxE.