Genetic variation in survival and growth of Eucalyptus globulus ssp. globulus in Ethiopia

A provenance/progeny trial of Eucalyptus globulus ssp. globulus was established at Ilalaa Gojo in the central highlands of Ethiopia in 1990 to identify superior provenances and establish a breeding population for genetic improvement programs. The trial tested a total of 299 open-pollinated families from 52 localities within 17 natural sub-races in Australia, and one local landrace from Ethiopia. Nine years after planting, more than 61% of trees had survived and the overall mean height and diameter at breast height (dbh) of surviving trees were 21.2 m and 16.4 cm respectively. Significant (P < 0.001) differences in survival, height and dbh per tree were found between sub-races; differences among localities within the sub-races were also significant. Eastern and Western Otways, Cape Patton and Strzelecki Ranges in Victoria were the fastest-growing sub-races, and also displayed above—average survival. Sub-races from the Tasmanian mainland performed poorly; the Wilsons Promontory sub-race was the slowest-growing and displayed poor survival. The Ethiopian landrace performed well although it was not adequately represented in the trial. Assuming a coefficient of relationship of 0.4 for open-pollinated families, individual-tree within-sub-race heritabilities for height and dbh were 0.20 ± 0.03 and 0.16 ± 0.02 respectively. We conclude that there is substantial potential for genetic improvement of E. globulus in Ethiopia. © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.