Comparison of performance of whitewood (Endospermum medullosum L. S. Smith) provenances and families in Vanuatu

Abstract

This study reports a comparison of performance of four year-old whitewood (Endospermum medullosum L S Smith) provenances and families trials established by the Department of Forestry of Vanuatu and the South Pacific Regional Programme In Forest Genetic Resources project (SPRIG). Trees in the different open-pollinated, half-sibling families had mean heights ranging from 7.1 m to 10.2 m, dbh from 13.5 cm to 17.8 cm, wood volume from 0.07 to 0.14 m3 and survival from 54% to 91%. Seedlot GD11 from Shark Bay East Santo showed the superior mean height of 10.2 m followed by seedlot MT29 from Maewo and MS47 from Malel Central East Santo with 9.6 m. The shortest trees were in families JT35 (Forari, Efate) with 7.1 m, MT33 (Maewo) and JT30 (Forari, Efate) with 7.5 m. Trees in seedlots MS44 from Malel Central East Santo and MS32 from Palon East Santo had the biggest diameter increase(mean dbh of 17.8 cm) followed by seedlot GD11 Shark Bay East Santo and MS2 from Sara East Santo with 17.5 cm and MS55 from South East Santo with 17.4 cm. Seedlots with very low diameter increment were MT3 from Maewo and JT35 from Forari (mean dbh of 13.5 cm) followed by MT3 and MT4 from Central Pentecost with a mean dbh of 13.8 cm. Seedlots with superior wood volume production were MS2 from Sara East Santo (with mean of 0.15 m3 per tree) followed by seedlots MS32 Palon East Santo, GD11 Shark Bay East Santo, MS55 South East Santo with 0.14 m3 and MS3 Kole East Santo with 0.13 m3. The slowest growing seedlots were JT35 from Forari Efate and MT32 from Maewo with mean volume of 0.07 m3. Study reveals that there is a great potential among provenances and families for further improvement and to establish breeding programme to breed whitewood for higher quantity and better timber quality.