Genetic control on heartrot decay of Aacacia mangium Willd genotypes

PH Hai, NM Chi, LA Duong, JTB Brawner
Journal of Tropical Forest Science 37(4): 440–448 (2025)
ISSN: 0128-1283, eISSN: 2521-9847
Abstract
Acacia mangium Willd. has been widely planted for wood production across Southeast Asia, where
plantations have been frequently damaged by diseases such as heartrot. But little attention has been
paid to creating disease-tolerant genotypes within the progeny tests of this species in these countries.
This study evaluates disease status of A. mangium at 3 years of age in two progeny trials established
in Tuyen Quang and Quang Tri provinces, Vietnam. Heartrot disease tolerance was inferred by
quantifying damage incidence using acoustic tomography on standing trees and assessing lesion
length after artificial inoculation with the fungal pathogen Perenniporia tephropora that is commonly
associated with heartrot. Our results showed that the damage incidence and lesion length differed
significantly among families. The heritability estimates for damage incidence (ĥ2 = 0.25) and lesion
length (ĥ2 = 0.38) were moderate. Genotype by environment interactions did not impact damage
incidence or lesion length. Our finding also indicates that the damage incidence measured by acoustic
tomography on standing trees could be an indirect and highly reliable method for quantifying the
genetic variation of this trait in A. mangium. Several A. mangium families with low incidence of heartrot
and small lesion lengths following inoculation were identified for the continued development of A.
mangium in Vietnam.
https://doi.org/10.26525/jtfs2025.37.4.440