REPRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY OF SELECTED PHENOTYPES OF Pinus patula var. longepedunculata Loock

The cones and seeds collect in selected forest trees requires determining the quantity and quality of the seeds for their use in commercial forest plantations or reforestation. The objective of this research was to evaluate the reproductive efficiency of cones and seeds of 47 Pinus patula var. longepedunculata trees from several locations in Oaxaca, Mexico. The cones were collected in 2018 from selected trees from different locations in Sierra Sur (SS) and Sierra Norte (SN) of Oaxaca. In 2019 the seeds were measured and weighed separately by tree and origin, and evaluated reproductive indicators in cones such as: proportion of fertile scales, seed potential and seed efficiency. Data were analyzed using a nested linear model, comparison tests (Duncan, p= 0.05) and Pearson's correlation. The select phenotypes from SN showed higher potential and seed reproductive efficiency than the SS phenotypes (117 vs 46,4); the highest proportion of fertile scales (0.53 vs. 0.52) was found for cones collected in localities of San Juan Luvina (SN) and San Pedro el Alto (SS). There are significant low correlations (alpha= 0.05) between morphological characteristics of cones and seeds with the climatic characteristics of the sites.