Estratégias na seleção simultânea de vários caracteres no melhoramento do Eucalyptus

Abstract

The aim of this study was i) to compare the results obtained with the Z index (sum of standardized variables) in relation to the classical (Smith, 1936; HAZEL, 1943) and rank sum indexes (Mulamba and MOCK, 1978) by means of the growth and wood technology traits and ii) to verify the progeny x environment interaction in simultaneous multiple trait selection, based on the Z index. Thus, we used a full sib progeny test of Eucalyptus urophylla and Eucalyptus grandis evaluated in two locations in the municipality of Ipaba, Minas Gerais state. At three years of age, the following traits were evaluated: average yearly increase of wood, wood density, refined pulp yield and effective alkali. There was good agreement in the progeny selection by the indexes. Thus, use of the Z index of standardized variables is a good option in simultaneous selection of multiple traits in the forestry sector through its ease of application and, above all, interpretation of results. The mentioned index revealed efficient in the study of the genotypes x environments interaction.