Genetic parameters and prediction of breeding values in Castanopsis hystrix A.DC. for growth and form traits

Castanopsis hystrix A.DC. is one of the most important and multipurpose tree species native to China. 157 open-pollinated families collected from 11 provenances in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian province were used to estimate genetic parameters for height (H), diameter at breast height (DBH), ground diameter (GD), and crown width (CW) for each province and combined three provinces at ages from 3 to 9 years. The variance component was small and non-significant among provenances but was highly significant among families within provenances for H, DBH, GD, and CW. Heritability estimates were significant except for a few traits from Fujian’s provenances. Heritability ranged from 0.20 to 0.57 for H, 0.19 to 0.38 for DBH, 0.21 to 0.55 for GD, and 0.09 to 0.39 for CW. Heritability estimates for H and DBH decreased with increased age for each province and combined three provinces. Significantly high genetic correlations were observed for ageage and trait-trait correlations, indicating that genetic performance at one trait was well correlated with another trait. In total, 22 families and 60 individuals were selected for backward and forward selection based on breeding values.