Estimates of genetic parameters and prediction of breeding values for growth in Eucalyptus globulus combining clonal and full-sib progeny information

Analysis of height growth from clonal and progeny trials from Soporcel's Eucalyptus globulus breeding program gave regional heritabilities of 0.28 ± 0.03 and 0.19 ± 0.04 for the north-west and south of Portugal, respectively. Results also showed that cloning the parents used in the crossing program, even when based on a few tamers per clone, improved considerably the accuracy of genetic parameter estimates and efficiency of backward selections. The benefits of cloning the parents for selection efficiency seem justifiable even when large scale vegetative propagation is not feasible.