Abstract

Low yield of eucalypts in Kerala State, India has been ascribed to poor genetic base and susceptibility to Cylindrocladium leaf blight (CLB) caused by Cylindrocladium spp. and pink disease (PD) caused by Corticium salmonicolor. A two-pronged eucalypt improvement programme was initiated by KFRI using elite plus trees from existing plantations and provenances obtained from CSIRO, Australia. This paper provides details of field performance of various eucalypt provenances with respect to disease resistance, growth and survival at the end of 4-year period. Two provenance trials comprising E. camaldulensis (EC), E. tereticornis (ET), E. grandis (EG), E. urophylla (EU) and E. pellita (EP) were established. The cumulative disease resistance indices, girth at breast height (GBH) and survival at the end of fourth year were utilized to quantify the overall performance of each provenance. There apperars to be tremendous scope for utilising the promising provenances for future