Genetic Analysis and Combined Selection for Growth and Wood Quality of Open-pollinated Families of Masson Pine

Inheritance and variation of growth and wood quality were studied through 81 open-pollinated families of 9-year-old.It was found that there were significant differencesbetween families for tree height,DBH,bole straightness,limb characteristics and wood basicdensity which were moderately inherited,and while marked effect of family for tracheidlength was not found.The poor posiive or negative genetic correlation between growth andbasic density indicated that growth rate is not an accurate indicator for wood density.Thegrowth and wood density could be manipulated indirectly by selecting bole straightness andbranch size.Branch angle was a specific trait independent of other ones.Unrestricted and restricted index were effective methods for selecting fast-growing and high wood quality families.Finally,the problems on selection strategy and multitrait selection of paperpulp woodwere discussed.