Phenotype Selection and Half-Sib Family Performance in Black Cherry

Forty-two open-pollinated families from good, average, and poor parent phenotypes originating from natural black cherry stands in Pennsylvania and West Virginia were measured at age 3 in a nursery and then at age 12 in a plantation. Phenotype selection of parents was ineffective in predicting family performance for height, stem diameter, and form. While mean heights of progeny from good parents exceeded those from average and poor parents, the differences were statistically significant only in the case of the poor phenotype class from West Virginia. Tree dimensions in nursery and field differed significantly between origins and among families within origins. Nursery performance may be used as an indicator of subsequent field performance to reduce the size of progeny test plantings but at the risk of losing some desirable genotypes. Greater genetic gains may be achieved by broader sampling of natural stands rather than reliance solely upon the selection of superior trees. Forest Sci. 28:251-256.