Productivity, adaptability and genotypic stability of clones of Eucalyptus spp. and Corymbia spp. in different plant spacing

Certain spacing can cause genotypic instability and lead to increased losses in diameter, height and volume over time. In this context, genotype x spacing (GxS) interaction analysis becomes indispensable. The objective of this study was to evaluate the interaction (GxS) in a clonal eucalyptus plantation, as well as to evaluate its productivity, adaptability and stability under different spacing using the restricted maximum likelihood method and the best nonlinear linear predictor (REML / Blup) through the following strategies: selection by the predicted genetic value, considering the average performance of the genotypes between spacing (without interaction effect); Considering the performance in each spacing (with interaction effect); simultaneous selection for productivity, adaptability and stability by the harmonic mean relative performance of genetic values (HMRPGV). The work was carried out in a 48-month-old clonal plantation planted in a block design with six replications, in which six eucalyptus clones (plots) and six planting spacing (subplots) were evaluated. Diameter at breast height (DBH), total height (HT) and individual volume with bark (VOL) were evaluated. The estimates of genetic variance obtained indicate the possibility of significant gains with selection. The estimated heritabilities were of high magnitude and of high accuracy, indicating the possibility of expressive gains with selection. The three methods used permitted the selection of clones for restricted use and clones for wide use. The HMRPGV method provided lesser gains because it penalized the genotypic instability between the spacing.