Variation, Association and Inheritance of Juvenile Wood Properties ofEucalyptus grandisHill ex Maiden with Special Reference to the Effect of Rate of Growth

Abstract

SYNOPSIS In South Africa existing knowledge on the properties of the juvenile wood of Eucalyptus grandis, their variation and intercorrelation is seriously lacking and not in accordance with the species commercial importance. Such information is important because of the fact that a large proportion of this species is grown under intensive short-rotation management for the production of mining timber and pulpwood. In this study the intercorrelation between wood properties, the variation among families and the effect of growth rate on these properties were studied in 216 young trees sampled from a full-sib diallel progeny trial consisting of 72 families established in the Eastern Transvaal by the Department of Environment Affairs. Results of a factor analysis indicated that the variation in the basic wood properties of young E. grandis is adequately described by studying wood density, fibre lengths and vessel properties such as size, frequency and fractional volume. All these properties vary significantly a...