A Preliminary Seedling Selection of Superior Clones of Alnus cremastogyne

The goals of this study were to select superior clones of alder (Alnus cremastogyne),and to achieve maximum genetic gains and economic benefits.A total of 476 alder clones obtained through cuttage were used to study the height and ground diameter and significance analysis of their difference.By the method of membership function in fuzzy mathematics and principal component analysis,aiming to provide the weight value of each character and the comprehensive evaluation of the clones.The results showed that there were significant differences (P<0.01) in each of two traits (height and ground diameter).According to the average of the membership function value,the clones were classified into seven grades.Three clones were identified as grade 1,of which the height and ground diameter were 224.3% and 82.3% higher than average,respectively; while nine clones were classified as grade 2 and 45 clones were classified as grade 3,and these might be used as candidates to increase genetic diversity.