Clonal Propagation and Genetic Testing of Virginia Pine

Texas Christmas tree growers plant approximately 800,000 Virginia pine (pinus virginiana Mill.) seedlings each year. In 1981 a tree improvement cooperative was formed with the objective of providing genetically improved planting material to these growers. Clonal propagation could potentially be an integral component of this and other tree improvement programs through production of limited and/or proven genotypes. One technique of clonal propagation is tissue culture of cotyledon explants and the subsequent production of plantlets for operational plantings. Before this system of propagating Virginia pine can be considered successful, it is imperative that micropropagated plantlets are evaluated in field trials. Three trials consisting of both plantlets and seedlings were established in spring, 1990, to compare the performance of plantlets to genetically improved seedlings of similar genetic background. This is the first phase of our Virginia pine clonal field testing program. After one growing season, plantlets were shorter and had a slightly lower survival rate. Plantlets were smaller and more variable in size and age when planted compared to seedlings, due to the constraints of the tissue culture system.

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Author(s): J. Aimers-Halliday, Craig R. McKinley, Ronald J. Newton

Publication: Tree Improvement and Genetics - Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference - 1991

Section: General Session: Breeding and Propagation