Maritime pine for dry-land Western Australia T. B. Butcher and A. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Maritime pine for dry-land Western Australia

• T. B. Butcher and A. L. Chandler

Forest Products Commission, Western Australia

Plus Tree E105, Forest of Leiria, Portugal, 1964.

Breeding Pinus pinaster in Western Australia

• First planted in WA in 1896
• Trials planted in 1926 which showed that p.

pinaster from Portugal (Leiria) had the

best growth rate and form for the sandy soils of the swan coastal plain.

• Breeding programs commenced in 1957. Trees were selected for:

– Dominance, – Fast growth – Good form

• Very successful – 40%

more productive as well as straighter and smaller limbed than the original unimproved st ock

Breeding Pinus pinaster in Western Australia

Breeding Pinus pinaster in Western Australia

Land suitable for Pinus pinaster in Western Australia

• The vision – area 500,000 ha
• Low/mid rainfall zone 400-600mm
• Land use objectives

– Combat salinisation – Integrate trees with agriculture – Commercial tree crop to drive tree planting

Dry-land breeding strategy

• The existing improved breeding population consists of:

– 85 trials – 158 hectares – 183400 trees – 2435 families

• Principal traits

– S tem straightness – Form – Reduced branch diameter – Vigour

Extreme summer rainfall events

684 mm 81.6 34.6 15.1 12.5 10.5 8.9 Mean 533 15.8 6 3.8 4.4 0.6 1 2001 783 17 4.6 1.4 3.4 7.6 1996 789 39.6 7.2 4.8 27.6 1995 494 5.8 2.2 2.2 0.4 1 1994 678 27.6 4.6 5.8 8.2 9 1993 Annual Summer April March Feb Jan Dec- Year

Pearce Weather stat ion

24 25 24 26 30 m

2ha

• 1

BAHA

• 43
• 9
• 32

11 sus

• 49
• 60

10 sus

• 40
• 39
• 2
• 25

9 sus

• 35
• 25
• 32
• 9
• 6

8 sus

• 21
• 36
• 27
• 39

7 sus

• 52
• 41
• 21

6 sus

• 39
• 23
• 52

5 sus

• 62
• 50
• 38

4 sus

• 45
• 48
• 53

3 sus

• 52
• 63
• 35
• 5
• 36

2 sus

• 51
• 35
• 39
• 43

1 sus 59 58 11 tol 63 58 10 tol 18 28 29 9 tol 52 60 8 tol 46 27 29 7 tol 24 45 23 6 tol 47 28 45 5 tol 2 22 25 6 10 4 tol 62 82 71 103 3 tol 20 33 36 33 2 tol 45 48 37 47 1 tol

YS60DIF YS59DIF YS57DIF YS55DIF YS54DIF FAM DRY Trial average standing basal area m2ha-1 and common Pinus pinaster full-sib families, basal area expressed as percentage of the mean for unthinned trials in Gnangara (Neaves) plantation. Trials planted in 1975-76 at 1080 sha-1 and assessment in 2002 at age 26-27 years, after the extreme summer drought of 2001.

Provenances of Pinus pinaster

79% 42% 75% 62% survival 24 16 39 42 m

2ha

• 1

Basal Area 2005 81% 87% 49% 73% good branch 82% 59% 43% 86% good stems 3.8 4.2 9.4 12.1 m

3ha

• 1

volume mai 214 251 570 734 dm

3

stem volume 89% 78% 78% 69% survival 23 20 35 37 m

2ha

• 1

alive Baha 24 23 38 45 m

2ha

• 1

Basal Area 2000 14 14 22 25 m

2ha

• 1

Basal Area 1986 5 5 7 8 m

2ha

• 1

AT Baha 12% 9% 2% 1% drought 11 12 19 21 m

2ha

• 1

Basal Area 1977 Corsica Landes Leiria_Un Leiria _Imp Trait Year

Pinus pinaster provenance hybrids

59% 48% 41% 38% good form 88% 61% 47% 59% good branch 91% 70% 43% 76% good stem 72% 55% 74% 80% survival

• 12%
• 8%

= 28% diff 37 39 42 54 m

2ha

• 1

Basal Area E * C E * L Leiria Un E * E Trait

E = Leiria improved. L= Landes improved. C = Corsica improved. Leiria Un = unimproved seed from Leiria Portugal.

Pinus pinaster in Mehcra el Kettane - Morocco

50 year-old Plus phenotype of Pinus pinaster in a drought affected Mechra el Kettane plantation

• The Mechra el Kettane plantation in Morocco covers an

area of some 10,000 ha and is mainly of Leirian race P.

pinaster

• Climate is similar to medium rainfall southwest WA
• Average annual rainfall 420mm
• 1993 – 1997, rainfall averaged 280mm

Establishment of a dry-land breeding population

• New breeding population created
• Control pollinat ion of parent selected for tree form,

growth rate and drought tolerance

• Planted in low – medium rainfall areas extending from

Moora t o Esperance.

• From 1997 – 2007, 32 progeny trials were established, on

55 hectares, testing 843 new families

Early results and performance

• MOORA P1997 (462mm rainfall, evaporation 2300mm)
• 210 families
• S

tocking 1515 stems per ha.

• Last assessment, in 2005, drought deaths occurred over

12%

• f the trial

Early results and performance

• Age 8 years.

– Basal area 12m2ha-1 for improved trees and – 9m2ha-1 for unimproved trees

• Improved trees had 30%

more straighter stems, 50% more trees with smaller branches and 16% more healthy trees than the unimproved trees.

• S

OUTH STIRLING P1997 (approx 600mm rainfall, evaporation 1800mm)

• S

ame 210 families as planted at Moora

• Measured in early 2007.
• 99%

stocked

• Age 10 years

– basal area 27m2ha-1 for improved trees and – 22m2ha-1 for unimproved trees

• Improved trees had 60%

with acceptable stem straightness and branching.

• Unimproved trees had 70%

fewer straight and 40% fewer acceptable branched trees.

• All trees were very healthy

Early results and performance

Pinus pinaster in Esperance

• Pinus pinaster breeding trial P1999, Esperance (1 year)
• Rainfall 600mm, evaporation 1700mm

Pinus pinaster in Esperance

Age 4 years

• Average improved tree height = 4.4m,
• Average unimproved tree height = 3.9m.

Age 7 years

• 21m2ha-1 Basal area for improved.
• 14m2ha-1basal area for unimproved.

Family trial, Esperance P1999. Age 5 years

Malformation in Pinus pinaster

Breeding Pinus brutia in Western Australia

• Very hardy; its drought t olerance exceeds that of both P. radiata and P. pinaster
• With its strong drought tolerance and control of apical dominance, t his species will

be very important in the low/ mid rainfall zone

Pinus brutia Plus trees in Cyprus -> WA trials P1964

• 3-year-old tree in Pinus brutia family trial at

Dandaragan.

• Planted 2001
• Breeding program to improve the growth

rate within species.

Breeding Pinus brutia in Western Australia

Pinus brutia x P. pinaster hybrids

• Hybrid with P. pinaster to improve drought

tolerance and apical dominance of Marit ime pine.

• First P. pinaster x P. brutia hybrid trial

planted in 2005, east of York.

• S

urvival at 1 year = 88%