Performance differences in Pinus radiata progeny with differing site nutrient availability

Two intensive harvesting trials with contrasting nutrient capital were examined for genetic × environment interactions to age 5 years after planting. Treatments included differences in removal of organic matter and in site preparation and weed control, with each treatment having both fertilized and nonfertilized plots. Three harvest treatments (both fertilized and nonfertilized) were common to both sites, with two additional treatments at one site. There were four replicate plots of each treatment combination at each site, with two trees from each of three control seed lots and 47 open-pollinated families chosen to represent the range of performance for growth planted in each plot. Large differences among sites and among treatments in both growth and foliar nutrient concentration were observed. Genetic × site interactions and genetic × treatment within site interactions were seldom significant. Significant interactions did not appear to be related to changes in rankings of families, but rather to the differences in variance among families in different treatments. This study suggests that selection of specific radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) families for better growth performance on nutrient-deficient sites in New Zealand would not result in substantial improvement over selection for growth on all sites disregarding nutrient availability.