Inheritance and correlation analysis of pulpwood properties, wood density, and growth traits of slash pine

Abstract

Slash pine (Pinus elliottii) is the most important and a fast-growing material that is used for industrial timber and pulp production. A breeding program of slash pine that aims to improve wood properties has been employed for the past decade. This study analysed the genetics and correlation of growth traits and wood properties of a total of 1059 individual plants from 49 families of P. elliottii. Heritability, family ranking, genetic gain, and the relationship between these traits were estimated. The results showed that there was a significant negative genetic correlation between the holocellulose and lignin content. The heritabilities of these four traits were ranked from 0.18 to 0.32. The chemical wood traits did not show a strong correlation with diameter at breast height (DBH) and wood density. However, it is still possible to combine wood traits for selection. It was suggested that the genetic breeding selection could improve the growth and quality of P. elliottii.