Genetic Variation of Growth Traits and Genotype-by-Environment Interactions in Clones of Catalpa bungei and Catalpa fargesii f. duclouxii

Clones of Catalpa bungei and Catalpa fargesii f. duclouxii were studied over several years in central China to explore genetic variation in growth traits and to identify clones of high wood yield and high stability. The genetic parameters for height, diameter at breast height (DBH), and stem volume of clones, were estimated. The effect of clone × year on the increment of stem volume in the two species was analyzed by genotype and genotype × environment (GGE) biplot methods. Significant differences in growth traits among clones and between species were found. The growth of C. bungei exceeded that of C. fargesii f. duclouxii after 4 years. Furthermore, from the 5th year, the repeatability and genetic variation coefficient (GCV) of the C. bungei clones were higher than those of the C. fargesii f. duclouxii clones in most cases. The phenotypic variation coefficient (PCV) of the C. fargesii f. duclouxii clones was significantly lower than that of the C. bungei clones. The repeatability of stem volume was intermediate or high in the two species. ANOVA revealed significant effects of the clone by year interaction in these two species. GGE biplot analysis revealed that wood yield and stability were largely independent in C. bungei; clones 22-03, 19-27, and 20-01 were the optimal clones in this species. In contrast, the optimal clones 63 and 128 of C. fargesii f. duclouxii combined the desired characteristics of high yield and high stability. In conclusion, our results indicated that the height and stem volume of C. bungei was under strong genetic control, whereas that of C. fargesii f. duclouxii was influenced by the environment more than by genetic effects. Genetic improvement by clone selection can be expected to be effective, as the repeatability of stem volume was high. Francis and Kannenberg’s method and GGE biplot analysis were used in combination to evaluate the clones. C. bungei clone 22-03 and C. fargesii f. duclouxii clones 63 and 128 were identified as the optimal clones, which exhibited both a high increment of stem volume and high stability.