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Height growth of ponderosa pine progenies

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Research at the Institute of Forest Genetics at Plaeerville, California since its inception in 1925, has been concerned with the variation in individual trees of a speices. We are interested in this variation as a guide to selection of outstanding individuals. Western forests have considerable diversity in soils, topography, species composition, and distribution of age classes in stands. All of this variability is reflected in the phenotype of the tree and tends to make field selection of genetically superior individuals difficult. Is an outstanding tree genetically superior, or is it just the product of a succession of favorable environmental conditions? Progeny testing of selected individuals is a means of estimating their genetic worth, but such tests for any number of trees require consider able land area and many years using present methods of measuring older trees. Can juvenile characters of progenies be used to estimate inherent superiority of seed trees? This and the preceding question were posed by Lloyd Austin, formerly in charge of tho work at the Institute.

Citation

Callaham, R. Z.; Hasel, A. A. 1957. Height growth of ponderosa pine progenies. In: Proceedings, Society of American Foresters, Syracuse, New York, 1957: p. 61-62
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/32872