Abstract: The objective was to select productive and stable E. grandis families
across contrasting sites in Brazil and Uruguay. Survival and growth of 130 open
pollinated families were evaluated three years after planting. Survival ranged
from 28 to 89% and mean annual increment from 20.5 to 48.4 m3ha- y-1. Low
productivity in one site was attributed to unusually low rainfall and in the other,
because of Cylindrocladium leaf disease. Heritability among families and the
correlation family by environment were intermediate. Genetic pairwise correlations
ranged from 0.03 to 0.81 across sites. The lowest genetic correlation
between sites was observed where Cylindrocladium leaf disease occurs. Selection
of top families across sites allowed selecting the best ones in each site.
However, the effect of genotype–environment interactions was observed where
climatic conditions are not adequate to the E. grandis, favoring the occurrence
of Cylindrocladium disease.
ARTICLE – Selection of Eucalyptus grandis families across contrasting environmental conditions
