Intra-and intergenotypic competition among commercial eucalyptus clones

Abstract

Plantations made up of clones carry genetic uniformity that can compromise production. The use of multiclonal plantations is a possible solution. The objective of this study was to identify effects of competition on silvicultural performance of Eucalyptus spp. commercial clones. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design with 12 eucalyptus clones, three replicates, and five plants per plot. Clones were evaluated for two competition types, intra-and intergenotypic, at 3 and 5 years of age. Competition parameters were estimated based on the analyses performed. Differences were found between the types of competition at both ages for mean annual increment and wood volume. Clones 8 and 9 stood out from the others in both intra-and intergenotypic competition. At 5 years of age, intergenotypic competition produced productivity gains of 13% in clones 8 and 9 and 4% overall considering wood volume and mean annual increment.