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Volume 15
Issue 13
10.3390/plants15132035
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Genetic Evaluation and Selection of Growth Traits of Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis Half-Sib Families

by
Xiaoliang Che
1,†,
Qiang Han
1,†,
Xia Zhao
1,
Guihua Huang
1,
Xianbang Wang
1,
Jianmin Xu
1,*,
Yong Yang
2,
Liyong Chen
3 and
Yundong Zhang
2
1
Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou 510520, China
2
Pu’er Weiguo State-Owned Forestry Bureau, Pu’er 665199, China
3
Pu’er Forestry Industry Group Co., Ltd., Pu’er 665000, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Plants 2026, 15(13), 2035; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15132035
Submission received: 25 May 2026 / Revised: 24 June 2026 / Accepted: 26 June 2026 / Published: 30 June 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Forest Tree Genetics and Breeding—2nd Edition)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis is a major commercial conifer in subtropical Yunnan, China, yet systematic genetic evaluation of its breeding populations remains scarce. We estimated genetic parameters for growth and stem form (SF) traits to support advanced-generation selection. In a progeny trial of 113 open-pollinated half-sib families established in 2013 at Pu’er, 2201 surviving trees were assessed at age 11 for height, diameter at breast height (DBH), stem volume, height to crown base (HCB), crown width, and an ordinal SF score. Variance components and breeding values (BVs) were estimated using linear mixed models, with a Bayesian threshold model as a sensitivity analysis for ordinal data. Family-mean heritabilities showed a gradient across growth traits (height 0.14, DBH 0.29, and volume 0.24). Stem volume had the highest genetic coefficient of variation (18.85%), the optimal selection target, whereas HCB lacked detectable genetic variance and SF was weakly controlled (0.09). Phenotypic and BV rankings diverged: although Yunjing Seed Orchard showed the highest phenotypic means, best linear unbiased prediction identified Jinggu Seed Orchard as contributing nine of the top ten families and 26 of the 35 elite individuals. A combined backward–forward strategy, ranking materials by volume BVs under a phenotypic threshold (SF ≥ 7), yielded predicted volume gains of 14.35% (family) and 15.01% (individual), providing a basis for second-cycle breeding pending multi-environment validation.
Keywords: half-sib progeny trial; variance component estimation; forward and backward selection; Bayesian threshold model; tropical conifer half-sib progeny trial; variance component estimation; forward and backward selection; Bayesian threshold model; tropical conifer

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MDPI and ACS Style

Che, X.; Han, Q.; Zhao, X.; Huang, G.; Wang, X.; Xu, J.; Yang, Y.; Chen, L.; Zhang, Y. Genetic Evaluation and Selection of Growth Traits of Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis Half-Sib Families. Plants 2026, 15, 2035. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15132035

AMA Style

Che X, Han Q, Zhao X, Huang G, Wang X, Xu J, Yang Y, Chen L, Zhang Y. Genetic Evaluation and Selection of Growth Traits of Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis Half-Sib Families. Plants. 2026; 15(13):2035. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15132035

Chicago/Turabian Style

Che, Xiaoliang, Qiang Han, Xia Zhao, Guihua Huang, Xianbang Wang, Jianmin Xu, Yong Yang, Liyong Chen, and Yundong Zhang. 2026. "Genetic Evaluation and Selection of Growth Traits of Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis Half-Sib Families" Plants 15, no. 13: 2035. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15132035

APA Style

Che, X., Han, Q., Zhao, X., Huang, G., Wang, X., Xu, J., Yang, Y., Chen, L., & Zhang, Y. (2026). Genetic Evaluation and Selection of Growth Traits of Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis Half-Sib Families. Plants, 15(13), 2035. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15132035

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