Effective Number of Clones in Seed Orchards of Cedrus libani A. Rich.

Numbers of clone and ramet/clone were studied and discussed based on effective number of clones and relative effective number of clones in seed orchards of Taurus cedar (Cedrus libani A. Rich.). While, seed orchards had similar number of clones (15, 30 and 33), there were large differences for number of graft/clone within and among orchards. Number of ramets per clone varied between 4 and 43 in an orchard and between 4 and 106 in all orchards considered. Effective number of clones ranged from 24.6-31.4 and relative effective number from 0.82 to 0.99. The results of the study showed that ramet number had moderate variation among clones. It was important that establishment and thinning of seed orchards and estimation of gene diversity in seed orchard crop.