PROVENANCE SELECTION OF CUNNINGHAMIA LANCEOLATA (LAMB.)HOOK FOR PLANTING AREA IN CHINA

A nationwide provenance trial was organized with 19 and 43 seedlots on 21 and 45 sites respectively for two experiments with Chinese fir Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook and assessment was made on development and adaptability at the age of 6 years and 3 years in order to find out the relationship between better provenances and genotypesites.It was found out that there were significant differences between different provenances in standing volume.The selective efficiency of average volume reached 20%.The standing volume of the best provenance is 3.3 times more than that of the worst.According to their growth rate,stablity,characteristics of flowering and seeding and ability to resist frost,the geographic population,naturally occuring in South Ranges,was considered to be the best provenance and a number of better provenances were also identified to suit different types of site for main planting areas of the species.It was also suggested that the research results can be followed to use the seeds properly for establishing plantations under different ecological conditions in China.