Prioritizing analysis of forest genetic materials of seedlings of Falcataria moluccana (Miq.) Barneby and J. W. Grimes families in the secondary diffusion pathways

Tree breeding program requires expediting laboratory analysis of genetic materials of Falcataria moluccana. This study was conducted to prioritize genetic materials for analysis by identifying the differences of families’/provenances’ seedling germination, diameter, root-shoot ratio, and biomass as influenced by growth stressors. Ten families from secondary diffusion pathways consisting of five provenances were used in the study. A nursery experiment laid out in completely randomized design was set up with four treatments: Treatment 1(acidic dry soil); Treatment 2(acidic wet soil); Treatment 3(alkaline dry soil); Treatment 4(alkaline wet soil). Ten seedlings in five replications were used for each treatment. Standardized protocol used pH of 4.2 acidic and 7.2 alkaline; every other day watering of 200ml/seedling for dry, and everyday watering of 200ml for wet. Results showed that soil pH had no significant effect to germination. The acidic wet soil treatment significantly resulted in the highest seedling height, diameter, and biomass. Root-shoot ratio was not significantly affected by the treatments. Significant variation among families was evident in seedling height and diameter, but not in root-shoot ratio and biomass. Difference among provenances was not significant indicating that families are possibly closely related with each other due to proximity of their locations. The genetic materials of Fm071, Fm078, Fm059, Fm085, and Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley provenances are priority for laboratory analyses. The protocol of the study is highly relevant to fast track and optimizes efficiency in genetic analysis.published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences | JBES