Growth Differences between Six Provenances of Taxus chinensis var.mairei at Seedling and Young Stage

Genetic test at seedling and young stage including six provenances in Taxus chinensis var.mairei was conducted in Mingxi of Fujian and Chun'an of Zhejiang.The results indicated that there existed significant differences among provenances for growth performance at seedling and young stage.Among six provenances tested,Youxi provenance and Mingxi provenance possessed the biggest height growth with intensive lateral root system and more branches.Under artificial shading in the nursery,the average tree height of provenances at age two varied form 1.07 m to 1.16 m.The highest one was(8.4%) more than those of the lowest.Correlation analysis demonstrated that growth of tree height and diameter seemed to be independent of branch characters.Youxi provenance and Mingxi provenance were superior provenances with high growth rate,broader crown,more branches,etc.These two provenances could be used for high-yield management with short rotation.Because of more branches and narrow crown,Huaihua provenance of Hunan was also a good provenance with high productivity under large plant density in spite of moderate growth rate.