VIABILIDADE DE APLICAÇÃO DA SELEÇÃO PRECOCE EM TESTES CLONAIS DE Eucalyptus spp EARLY SELECTION VIABILITY IN Eucalyptus spp CLONAL TESTS

With the aim of evaluating Eucalyptus spp. for early selection efficiency, the height (HGT), diameter at breast height (DBH) and individual wood volume (VOL) of two clonal tests were assessed at the ages of 25, 50, and 72 months. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks, containing 30 treatments (clones), 6 replications and linear plots, one of them with 6 plants and the other with 10 plants, at the spacing of 3.0m x 3.0m. Variance analysis for each trait and age were carried out in the trials. The estimates of genotypic determination coefficient and the correlation between the early and mature ages for each trait were obtained. In order to confirm the viability of early selection, a simulated selection was performed at young and mature ages, adopting 30% of selection proportion for each trait and age considered. The genetic gains were estimated by using both direct and indirect selection. There were significant differences among clones evaluated in the two experiments for all traits and ages. Based on the results obtained for DBH in eucalyptus clonal tests, the use of early selection at the age of 2 years is feasible.