Genetic variation of Eucalyptus urophylla at seedling stage from provenances of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.

Species producing raw material for pulp and paper that can be grown in the high altitude lands are still limited. One of the potential species for this area is Eucalyptus urophylla. Tree breeding strategy by a progeny test is performed to increase its productivity. The initial selection is implemented at the nursery level by assess the variation of family (mother trees' progeny) (F1). The research aimed to determine the F1 variation by the growth performance of 6 months old F1 seedlings. Samples consisted of progeny from 27 family originated from provenances of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Indicators of growth performance and determination of rankings are assessed from the seedling's diameter, height, and robustness. The results showed that E. urophylla had high growth performance variation. Based on their growth performance, the best seedlings were from the family of A25, A27, A23, A19, A20 and A21. Genetic diversity among F1 categorized moderate, based on heritability of height (H²=0.37), diameter (H²=0.45) and robustness (H²=0.6). Coefficient of genetic variance (CGV) and coefficient of phenotypic variance (CPV) are more than 20%, and 27 mother trees are divided into 4 clusters. The existence of genetic diversity at the seedling level becomes the material for further testing in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]