Genetic Variability in Phenotypic Characters of Pinus gerardiana

Pinus gerardiana Wall. (Chilgoza pine) is a very important conifer species distributed very sparsely and endangered due to reckless cone extraction leading to complete lack of natural regeneration. The present studies were carried out to assess genetic variation in the species and to find out genetic relationship between various characteristics. A wide range of variation was exhibited in most of characters. High heritability along with high genetic gain was recorded for some characters which indicate that these characters can be improved by selection. Correlation and path coefficient analysis indicated that needle length, clear bole height, crown width and height can be used for indirect selection for improvement of economically important cone and nut characters