Growth pattern, Wood production and Genotypic clustering of the clones of Eucalyptus tereticornis, sm

Clonal plantations are gaining more attention in recent years as they are more profitable than seed raised plantations. The main objective of industrial forest management is to get optimum return for a given investment and it can be achieved only with clonal forestry programmes. Eucalyptus tereticornis clones are commercially planted as a source of paper pulp and volume tables are available to understand per year growth of clones. However, most of the volume table shows only over-bark wood volume undermining the actual volume of wood available for pulping. The present study was carried out to understand the MAI, CAI, over-bark and under-bark wood volume of thirty clones of Eucalyptus tereticornis raised at Vantimomidi, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh for a period of three years. Significant variation has been observed for all the growth traits studied. Bark thickness varied considerably among the clones and it showed insignificant correlation with growth traits. Clones such as Et 03, Et 07, Et 10, Et 71, Et 93, Et 99, Et 105, Et 122 and Et 130 were identified as promising clones in terms of productivity. Twelve clusters could be identified based on D2 analysis and the result will help the farmers to select the best planting stock for optimal productivity.