The moderate levels of genetic control for growth traits,
pilodyn penetration, and form and moderate to low levels
for relative bark thickness and survival indicate that one can
to achieve reasonable levels of genetic gain by intensive
selection, selecting the best trees from the better provenances
and families. However, an initial step in the genetic
improvement in E. viminalis here would be to convert one
or more of these trials into a seedling seed orchard by
selective thinning using trees’ ranking for breeding values.