EFFECT OF GENOTYPE ON MICROPROPAGATION AND POST-PROPAGATION GROWTH OF 35 COMMERCIAL CLONES OF CASTANEA SP.

This work studied the effect of genotype on micropropagation of 35 clones of chestnut, the genotype-environment interaction during in vitro multiplication and the genetic correlations between in vitro and ex vitro traits. High genetic variability and high clonal heritabilities were obtained for all studied traits. Mean values of all traits increased from the in vitro establishment to in vitro multiplication stage. Low phenoltypic and genetic correlations were obtained between in vitro establishment and multiplication traits, only the variable number of shoots per explant had significative and moderated genetic correlations between these stages. High genetic correlations between Hm-MS(½N) media were obtained during in vitro multiplication and this result indicates that both media induced a similar guideline for the group of clones. Low values of genetic correlation of the same trait in different culture media indicate that the origin of the genotype-environment interaction. No significative correlations were obtained between in vitro and growth in plantation traits. Contrary there were significative correlations between growth and stem form in nursery and height and stem form in plantations, so it is possible to predict the growth in plantations from nursery behaviour.