Juvenile vigour in erva-mate (Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil.) natural progenies from Mato Grosso do Sul state

The objective of this paper was to estimate the parameters and genetic values for the traits height, diameter and survival of erva-mate progenies, in an initial development phase, for the establishment of a progeny test in the indian area Kaiowa and Guarani. Seeds from 30 parent trees were collected in Caarapo, MS. The half-sib progenies were established at the COMFLORA Reflorestadora nursery in Ponta Pora, MS, in a randomized complete block design, with thirty progenies, five replications and ten plants per plot. Eight months after planting, height, diameter and survival were evaluated. The values of individual heritability (0.48; 0.55 e 0.79) and progeny mean heritability (0.74; 0.87 e 0.90) for height, diameter and survival, respectively, were expressive, suggesting great possibility of genetic progress in the future evaluation. Genetic gain predictions of 46.31% for height and of 38.61% for diameter were obtained with selection of the best ten individuals. The coefficients of individual genetic variation (CVgi%) for height (25.24) and diameter (18.48) were high, suggesting desired genetic expression for genetic improvement purposes. The genetic gain for the evaluated age stimulates the use of this germoplasm in future evaluations at advanced ages.