ABSTRACT The effects of early selection in a nursery on field performance were studied in an experiment comprising 2665 cutting-propagated clones of Picea abies (L.) Karst, deriving from 151 half-sib families. The clones were selected from 13,050 seedlings that were evaluated genetically using a randomized block design and measurements of height and growth rhythm in the nursery. The selected clones were assigned to six groups based on various criteria related to growth and phenology and to a comparison group of randomly selected clones. A group selected for height in the nursery gave an average gain in height after 6 years in the field of 9.1% compared with the randomly selected clones. Purely visual selection of plants with superior height, without considering the results of genetic evaluation, gave a gain of 3.8%. The gain in diameter after 12–14 years in the field was about two percentage units less but followed the same pattern. Other groups showed intermediate or less gain. Non-additive effects, expressed as clone-within-family effects, made substantial contributions to the total genetic gain. A test design that allows for genetic evaluation in the nursery appears to be a realistic option for achieving substantial gains in growth.

中文翻译：

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早期的苗圃测试可以导致挪威云杉田间表现的大量遗传增益

摘要 在一项试验中研究了苗圃早期选择对田间表现的影响，该试验包括来自 151 个半同胞家族的 2665 个扦插繁殖的云杉 (L.) Karst 克隆。这些克隆是从 13,050 株幼苗中选出的，这些幼苗使用随机区组设计和苗圃高度和生长节律的测量进行遗传评估。根据与生长和物候相关的各种标准，将选定的克隆分为六组，并分配给随机选择的克隆的对照组。与随机选择的克隆相比，在苗圃中选择身高的一组在田间种植 6 年后平均身高增加了 9.1%。不考虑遗传评估结果的纯目视选择具有较高高度的植物，获得了 3.8% 的增益。在田间工作 12-14 年后，直径的增加量减少了大约两个百分点，但遵循相同的模式。其他组显示出中等或更少的增益。非加性效应，表现为家族内克隆效应，对总的遗传增益做出了重大贡献。允许在苗圃中进行遗传评估的测试设计似乎是实现显着增长的现实选择。