INHERITANCE AND VARIATION OF JUVENILE GROWTH TRAITS IN OPEN POLLINATED FAMILIES OF MASSON PINE'S NATURAL STANDS

27 open-pollinated families from natural stands of masson pine were used as test material. The inheritance and variation of their juvenile growth traits, i. e. height, base diameter and crown size were analysed. The results showed that genetic variation of tree height and diameter at base was significant. It appeared that there was a moderate or a strong degree of additive genetic control for both traits, whose heritabilities tended to decrease as its age was increasing. The strong genetic correlation between growth traits was found.