Heritability and genetic correlations of wood characters of Upper Ottawa Valley white spruce populations grown in Quebec

The degree of inheritance and the genetic correlations of white spruce wood characters were studied from 39 half-sib families of eight populations from the Upper Ottawa Valley, 19 years after planting. The results indicated that these characters differ significantly among half-sib families. Furthermore, the study showed that white spruce wood characters are genetically related. Strong genetic correlations exist between the characters of inner wood and those of outer wood. Moderate to strong genetic control of outer wood characters was found while inner wood characters were found to be much more influenced by environmental factors. Expected genetic gains from a sequential two-step selection strategy were calculated.