Genetic parameter estimates for volume from fuil-sib tests of slash pine (Pinus elliottii)

Data from 171 full-sib tests of slash pine (Pinuselliottii Engelm. var. elliottii) measured at multiple ages between 4 and 15 years, were used to obtain restricted maximum likelihood (REML) estimates of variance components. These tests included over 2100 full-sib families, from more than 700 first-generation parents, represented by some 170 000 individuals. Analyses were completed of each test, and using standardized data, of all possible pairs of connected tests (tests with five or more common parents). Heritability, proportion of dominance variance, type B genetic correlations (which examine genotype × environment interactions), and age-age genetic correlations were estimated from the REML variance component estimates. The average heritability of volume was 0.07 at 5 years, which increased to 0.12 at 11 and 14 years of age. These heritability estimates are similar to, though slightly smaller than, previous estimates obtained from open-pollinated tests. There was approximately 1.6 times as much additive variance as dominance variance at 5 years of age, increasing to more than 2 times at 11 or more years of age. Although the relative importance of dominance variance in tree volume apparently declines with age, the existence of dominance variance may warrant some changes to the current breeding strategy. Estimates of type B genetic correlations increased from around 0.6 at 5 years to over 0.8 at 14 years, and so the importance of genotype × environment interaction appears to decline with age. These estimates of type B genetic correlations and also the estimates of age-age genetic correlations are similar to estimates from open-pollinated tests.