<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Wood stiffness, measured in terms of its modulus of elasticity (MoE) is an important characteristic of radiata pine for structural products. To select high stiffness radiata pine for breeding purpose, rapid, inexpensive methods for measuring wood stiffness are desirable. In this study, we explored acoustic instruments to measure stiffness of young standing trees in radiata pine and examined inheritance and genetic gain for stiffness in an Australian national breeding program. Time of flight of sound waves was recorded in standing trees in two progeny trials, one in eastern Victoria (Flynn) aged 8 years and the other in South Australia (Kromelite) aged 7 years. Average time of flight at Kromelite was higher than at Flynn, (519 μs/metre compared to 463 μs/metre) which corresponds to 3.7 GPa and 4.7 GPa for MoE, respectively. Heritability for time of flight was higher at Flynn (h2 = 0.67 ± 0.10) than at Kromelite (h2 = 0.30 ± 0.14). Selection of the best 10% for time of flight based on pooled data would result in 21% genetic gain in wood stiffness.</abstract>

Wood stiffness, measured in terms of its modulus of elasticity (MoE) is an important characteristic of radiata pine for structural products. To select high stiffness radiata pine for breeding purpose, rapid, inexpensive methods for measuring wood stiffness are desirable. In this study, we explored acoustic instruments to measure stiffness of young standing trees in radiata pine and examined inheritance and genetic gain for stiffness in an Australian national breeding program. Time of flight of sound waves was recorded in standing trees in two progeny trials, one in eastern Victoria (Flynn) aged 8 years and the other in South Australia (Kromelite) aged 7 years. Average time of flight at Kromelite was higher than at Flynn, (519 μs/metre compared to 463 μs/metre) which corresponds to 3.7 GPa and 4.7 GPa for MoE, respectively. Heritability for time of flight was higher at Flynn (h2 = 0.67 ± 0.10) than at Kromelite (h2 = 0.30 ± 0.14). Selection of the best 10% for time of flight based on pooled data would result in 21% genetic gain in wood stiffness.

Inheritance and Genetic Gain in Wood Stiffness in Radiata Pine Assessed Acoustically in Young Standing Trees

Silvae Genetica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Wood stiffness, measured in terms of its modulus of elasticity (MoE) is an important characteristic of radiata pine for structural products. To select high...

Inheritance and Genetic Gain in Wood Stiffness in Radiata Pine Assessed Acoustically in Young Standing Trees

Published Online: Oct 14, 2017

Page range: 56 - 64

Received: Oct 05, 2006

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sg-2008-0009

Keywords
wood stiffness, acoustics, heritability, genetic gain, radiata pine

© 2017

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Inheritance and Genetic Gain in Wood Stiffness in Radiata Pine Assessed Acoustically in Young Standing Trees

Published Online: Oct 14, 2017

Page range: 56 - 64

Received: Oct 05, 2006

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sg-2008-0009

Keywordswood stiffness, acoustics, heritability, genetic gain, radiata pine

© 2017

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
wood stiffness, acoustics, heritability, genetic gain, radiata pine