Genetic Improvement of Teak (Tectona grandis) in China

This paper describes the distribution characteristics of teak germplasm in China and their genetic variation. A strategy and the way for teak improvement are also put forward in this paper.Teak has been cultivated in China for more than 100 years. The genetic resources distributed in 46 counties/cities of 7 southern provinces. The growth appearance is very close to that in the natural distribution areas of India, Burma and other countries. Satisfactory results on teak improvement have been obtained since we started systematic teak breeding and improvement programme in China. The benefits from both the provenance selection and the clones of superior provenances overpassed the estimation of the original improvement plan. A strategy and the way for teak improvement were worked out according to the past improvement experiences, the characteristics of China's teak germplasmic distribution, and other related situations.