A New Breeding Strategy for Pinus radiata in New Zealand and New South Wales

Abstract

A new breeding strategy is presented for the Radiata Pine Breeding Company, a New Zealand based research consortium, that drives the breeding program for Pinus radiata for both the New Zealand and New South Wales based Australian forest plantation industry. The new strategy builds on the existing base for P. radiata, and on the last strategy review in 2000. The new strategy comprises a large open-pollinated (OP) Main Population (MP) with 500 female parents and two sublines (250 female parents per subline). The MP will be tested using alpha designs, single-tree plots and incomplete blocks to maximise efficiency. Each subline will be tested on four sites, geographically distant from the other subline. The MP will be managed in discrete generations. Selection of the next generation will be using a combination of backward and forward selection, but the strict control of inbreeding with identified lineage will rely on the development of parental reconstruction for OP progeny. There are alternatives to this, however, such as estimating the group coancestry and accepting some additional increase in inbreeding. This is a new and significant departure from previous breeding strategies for P. radiata in New Zealand. There will also be a single, small Elite Population (EP), tested 50% as progeny and 50% as clones. Twenty four parents will be tested each year as clones and 24 as seedling progeny with some overlap between the two. It is expected that the clonal population will capture the greatest gains in traits with low heritabilities, and the half-sib progeny will capture the greatest gains in traits with high heritabilities. The two sublines will be maintained in the EP, and breeding will be managed as a rolling front with trials established every year, while trials of the MP will be established every 10 years.

First evidence of genetic-based tolerance to red needle cast caused by Phytophthora pluvialis in radiata pine

“…The trial was an incomplete block design, with 4 replicates and 32 incomplete blocks per replicate (128 blocks). The trial was established to test a wide range of families across the New Zealand radiata pine breeding population (Dungey et al 2009). Tolerance to Dothistroma needle blight or other needle diseases was not considered at selection.…”

Ranking very young Pinus radiata families for acoustic stiffness and validation by microfibril angle

“…New Zealand radiata pine has been selected for growth and form since the 1950s, basic density since 1975 and disease resistance since 1983 (Dungey et al 2009). Unfortunately, superior genotypes for growth and form represented in the production populations (seed orchards and clonal production systems) have had very little, if any, screening for stiffness and stability.…”

Somatic Embryogenesis for More Effective Breeding and Deployment of Improved Varieties in Pinus spp.: Bottlenecks and Recent Advances

“…If the planting stock for reforestation can be vegetatively propagated, e.g. through SE, several benefits are achieved (Klimaszewska et al 2007;Dungey et al 2009;Lelu-Walter et al 2013). Improved material will be available for production forestry faster since there is no delay due to the time needed for seed orchards to grow and start flowering.…”