GENETIC VARIATION, DIVERGENCE AND CORRELATIONS AMONG SILVICULTURAL TRAITS AND WOOD DENSITY IN PROGENIES OF Myracrodruon urundeuva (Engler) Fr. Allem

Abstract

In the past, Myracrodruon urundeuva was intensively exploited due the quality of its wood and became scarce in all natural areas of occurrence, being actually considered in extinction (vulnerable category). This makes the species important for studies of population genetic structure for conservation and breeding purposes. Thus, from a progeny test established in 1987 in Selvíria, Mato Grosso do Sul State, genetic parameters for wood density in three radials positions (pith, intermediary and bark), the Mahalanobis distance and genetic and phenotypic correlations between growth traits (total height, stem height and diameter at breast height – DBH) and wood density were estimated. The population presented high wood density (0.75 g.cm-3) and heritability (0.64) for this trait in the medulla and intermediary positions, indicating strong genetic control and the possibility of improvement by selection. The results also showed that for the studied M. urundeuva populations, the progenies 1 and 14 must be used to explore the heterotic effects because these progenies presented the highest Mahalanobis distance; in contrast, the progenies 14 and 20 presented the lowest genetic distance and thus, the breeding may be obtained for backcross. These information are important to choose adequate methods of breeding and conservations genetics.