Experimental strategies for clonal eucalyptus

Abstract

The success of any forestry operation depends on the careful choice of the clones to be planted. At existing yield levels, the differences among clones are becoming smaller, leading to the need to use experimental strategies for a more successful choice. To obtain information in regard to better experimental strategies, data from two clonal tests of eucalyptus were used. One of the tests consisted of 35 clones and another of 48 clones. In both tests, the experimental plot consisted of 100 plants at commercial spacing (12 m2 per plant). The trait wood volume was evaluated, taking the relative position of the plant in the plot as a reference. The data were evaluated by different means, and it was observed that the use of border plot in clonal tests in eucalyptus is not necessary. Experimental accuracy with 15 to 20 plants is similar in comparison to the plot with 100 plants.