Korean Journal of Plant Resources ISSN:1226-3591(Print) 2287-8203(Online) 한국자원식물학회지

Plus tree selection is the essential first step in a tree improvement program. This study was carried out to select plus trees of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) for tree improvement in Korea. The candidate plus trees of black locust were selected from twenty-one places in the four provinces (Gangwon, Gyeonggi, Chungcheong and Gyeongsang) following comparison selection. The trees were examined for qualitative and quantitative traits of economic interest like tree height (H), diameter at breast height (DBH), clear bole height (CBH), stem straightness (SS), crown size (CS) and disease resistance. The 64 selected trees showed higher quality in growth characteristics than control trees. Average of height, DBH, CBH, SS and CS were 20.5 m, 31.1 ㎝, 10.1 m, 1.2 and 5.2 m respectively. In particular, it was shown that the growth characteristics were higher in Chungcheong population. The superiority percentage of selected candidate plus trees of black locust over their respective check trees ranged from 7.3% to 18.9% in height, 20.0% to 40.6% in DBH, 32.8% to 73.5% in CBH, 42.9% to 55.2% in SS and -11.1% to 9.4% in CS, respectively. The selected black locust will be useful in future tree breeding programs based on their clonal and progeny performance.