Comparative Study on Growth of Different Larch Species in West Hubei

The growth of four larch species,namely,Japanese larch,Prince Rupprecht′s larch,Korean larch and Chinese larch were compared based on the 5th year′,10th year′ and 24th year′ performance.There were significant differences among these species in DBH and height.The estimated variance of inter-species component accounted for about 80% of the growth variation,while provenances accounted for only a little amount.Except the 10th year′ performance,the between-provenances component in four species were significant in the 5th year and 24th year.So it was very important to select superior species and provenance from well-performed species in growth traits.There was significant interaction between year and growth traits,and the variation among different species of growth traits became more significant year after year. The DBH and height of Japanese larch were 2 07 and 1 86 times larger than those of the other larch species in the 24th year′ performance. The genetic correlation coefficients of DBH and height among 3 data sets of performances were as high as 1 0 in Japanese larch,so the early selection would be possible in the species.