Ten-year breeding tests for growing clones of hybrid aspen and other hybrid poplars in the conditions of the north-west of Russia

The creation of plantations from hybrid aspen and hybrid poplars is a promising way to solve the problems of raw material independence in the pulp and paper industry, construction and bioenergy. The development of hybrid aspen and poplar clones and their use in the creation of forest plantations has great potential, especially in cold climatic conditions. The purpose of the study is to assess the prospects of using clones of hybrid aspen and hybrid poplars in the conditions of the north-west of Russia for plantation forest cultivation. In this regard, in 2012, an experimental plantation of various clones of hybrid poplars developed in the USA, Germany, Sweden, France, Italy and hybrid aspen developed in Germany was laid in the Leningrad region, the total area of which was 1.8 hectares. 15 clones of hybrid aspen and 35 clones of hybrid poplars were selected for testing. Accounting for their growth and development was carried out annually. Based on ten- year tests of clones, an analysis of their safety, biometric, as well as soil indicators was carried out. Based on the data obtained, the most promising clones were determined and rank movements were established. With the help of a hierarchical cluster correlation function, dendrograms of ten- year tests of clones were constructed, which made it possible to classify them into groups that are close to each other in biometric indicators and to present the structure of the hierarchy of similarities between them. The results obtained are only a small part of a large work on the study and evaluation of a significant genetic and selection array of data among clones of hybrid aspens and hybrid poplars in the conditions of the north-west of Russia and can be used in breeding, genetics, as well as for the development of plantation forest cultivation in Russia and abroad.