Abstract
To clarify the variations among clones for several characteristics of the clone-complex cultivar of Cryptomeria japonica, Shakain, we investigated the clone composition and the stem form characteristics (stem circularity, tapering grade, and stem crookedness) and wood quality characteristics (stress wave velocity of standing trees) of each clone. CAPS (cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences) makers revealed that there were 19 DNA types in 220 individuals of the Shakain cultivar collected from eight stands in Kumamoto Prefecture. The age of the eight stands ranged from 22 to 82 years old. The three major DNA types accounted for 87.7% of the sampling individuals of the cultivar. ANOVA for each characteristic among the three major DNA types in the four stands that were around 40 years old indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the stem-form coefficient, height at maximum stem-crookedness, and stress wave velocity of standing trees, respectively. However, the magnitude of the difference was small enough from the viewpoint of wood use. Thus we concluded that the three major DNA types could be treated the same for wood use. To improve the uniformity of Shakain woods, we should remove all of minor clones from scion sources and lead to the clone complex which consists of the three major clones.
