Predicting age-age genetic correlations in tree-breeding programs: a case study of Pinus taeda L

A meta-analysis of 520 parents and 51,439 individuals was used to develop two equations for predicting age-age genetic correlations in Pinus taeda L. Genetic and phenotypic family mean correlations and heritabilities were estimated for ages ranging from 2 to 25 years on 31 sites in the southern U.S. and Zimbabwe. Equations for predicting age-age correlations based on P. taeda populations from west and east of the Mississippi River proved statistically different. Both predictive equations proved conservative for validation datasets consisting of younger tests in the U.S. and Zimbabwe. Age-dependent log-linear predictive equations were favored over growth-dependent equations. All P. taeda predictive equations based on genetic correlations favored earlier selection when compared to a generalized conifer predictive equation based on phenotypic correlations. The age-age correlations structure showed stability independent of planting density and across a wide range of family sizes.