Heritability, gain, and C effects in rooting of western hemlock cuttings

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Abstract
Analysis of clonal variation for five rooting traits of western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) clones demonstrated that clonal variation was due to both genetic and C effects (i.e., physiological or morphological characteristics unique to the ortet because of its specific environment). The potential bias to genotypic values of clones owing to C effects was significant, but heritability and gain estimates were only slightly biased. The five rooting traits were highly heritable (H2 = 0.87–0.92), and predicted genetic gain from clonal selection was substantial. Genetic correlations between pairs of traits were generally high (0.66−0.99); therefore, when selecting for any one trait, correlated responses can be expected in other traits.