Selection in a provenance trial of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) produced a land race with desirable properties

Selections were made within East European Norway spruce provenances in a provenance trial in northern Sweden and the selected clones were grafted in a Norwegian seed orchard mixed with plus trees of local origin. Full-sib families were generated by controlled crosses, producing sets of both inter- and intraprovenance families, which were planted in two short-term and in long-term trials. Measurements were made of frost damage, tree height, annual shoot growth rhythm and lammas shoots, and genetic parameters were estimated. The intraprovenance families from selected trees of East European origin showed the least variation in all traits and had the lowest heritability values. The variation among the intraprovenance families of local origin was large and with the highest estimates of heritability. The means of the provenance hybrid families were intermediate between those of the intraprovenance families. Strong genetic correlations were present between the growth rhythm traits measured, and in the family group of local origin also between these traits and frost damage, as well as for lammas shoots and height. The progenies of the selected parents of East European origin seem to be a desirable land race with less damage, lower percentage of lammas shoots and less variability in growth capacity.