Correlation between Dissymmetry of Siberian Pine Cones and Formation of Seeds in Them

Abstract

Siberian pine (Pinus sibirica Du Tour) is a species actively introduced into the taiga zone forests of the East European plain. It is recognized that the improvement of the economically valuable properties and preservation of intraspecific diversity of Siberian pine should be carried out by selection methods. At the same time, seeds of the greatest breeding value have nutritional value. In this regard, it is important to analyse the indirect morphological features related to seed productivity. The studies were carried out in order to reveal the correlation between dissymmetry of Siberian pine cones and their morphometric parameters, and formation of fine-grained seeds. Samples of cones selected in the introduction Zhernokovskaya Siberian pine grove (in 25 km to the East of the town of Gryazovets, Vologda region) were studied. It was found out that left/right dissymmetry of cones is connected with fine-grained seeds. D-isomers (right dissymmetry) of cones are characterized by the formation of a significant amount of single-seeded scales. Their content predetermines a significant fluctuation in amount and weight of seeds. The mass of seeds in the cones for L-isomers (left dissymmetry) is largely determined by the quality of the seeds themselves (mass of 1000 pcs.), than by the variation of cone sizes. The exception is the length of the cones. In the creation of nut-bearing plantations trees with fine-grained seeds have to be culled. In order to identify trees producing cones with such seeds, it is necessary to examine samples of cones with D-isomerism. Due to the fact that for L-isomers the correlation between size of cones and number of seeds is stronger, it is necessary to use cones with L-isomerism in order to select trees with large-scale cones (based on the cone length).
For citation: Khamitov R.S., Korchagov S.A., Merzlenko M.D., Kovyazin V.F., Kuznetsov E.N. Correlation between Dissymmetry of Siberian Pine Cones and Formation of Seeds in Them.
Lesnoy Zhurnal [Forestry Journal], 2019, no. 4, pp. 66–73. DOI: 10.17238/issn0536-1036.2019.4.66