Understanding genetic variations in wood traits and their relationships with dynamic growth is essential for optimizing tree breeding strategies. In this study, we investigated genetic control of 15 wood traits and the genetic associations of these traits with dynamic growth of tree height (H) and diameter at breast height (DBH) in Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi (Lamb. ) Carr. ), using data from 84 families from six Japanese provenances in a 22-year-old common garden experiment. The Logistic model provided a good fit to the temporal dynamics of H and DBH. Substantial genetic variation was detected among provenances and families for most traits. Wood anatomical traits exhibited the highest coefficients of genotypic variation (up to 20. 49%) and individual-tree heritabilities (0. 39–0. 80). Growth-related logistic parameters showed moderate heritability for DBH parameters (0. 14–0. 17) and low to moderate estimates for height parameters (< 0. 12). Genetic correlation analyses revealed that the relative growth rate of DBH (DBHᵣ) was positively correlated with cellulose content and fiber width but negatively correlated with basic density. Height growth parameters displayed few significant correlations with wood traits. These findings provide new insights into the genetic control of growth and wood formation, supporting the development of multi-trait selection strategies in L. kaempferi and other conifer breeding programs, such as selecting for families with both rapid early growth and desirable wood properties for solid and pulp wood products.
Zhang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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