Resumen

MORA, Freddy et al. Variabilidad en el florecimiento de procedencias de Eucalyptus cladocalyx en la Región de Coquimbo. Cienc. Inv. Agr. [online]. 2007, vol.34, n.2, pp. 131-139. ISSN 0718-1620.  doi: 10.4067/S0718-16202007000200006.

This work aimed to study the variability in flowering of five populations of Eucalyptus cladocalyx established in the administrative region of Coquimbo, northern Chile. Flowering was recorded as a binary response trait in 30-month-old trees. Then, at first, a generalized linear model was fitted for analyzing provenance effect. Subsequently, genetic variability was studied within the best provenance by Bayesian inference via Gibbs sampling. Initially, two sites were considered: Caracas and Tunga Norte, in the littoral and interior area of the Choapa Province, respectively. In the littoral area, only 1.3% of the trees evidenced flowering events, while in Tunga Norte, this value was 23.43%. For this reason, only interior site was considered. The provenance effect was significant (p < 0.01), with Cowell (codified FDI-20411) being the population that evidenced a relative better flowering response, although it not was different of the trees from national plantations (FDI-Illapel). However, trees from a local population evidenced a high variability, having a mean response similar to other provenances. The flowering trait analyzed within the Cowell population, the selected provenance, was shown to be highly heritable (h² = 52.3%). Predicted genetic gain when considering two different breeding strategies varied from 36 to 40%. According to these results, it is possible that farmers can recover establishment costs of E. cladocalyx plantations as soon as possible whenever the selected trees are used for apicultural aims

Palabras clave : Arid conditions; flowering events; genetic gain; improvement; multipurpose trees; provenances.