An additional plantation (Ida Creek) adjacent to the low PREF site contains representa- 

 tives of all the families included in the nursery test. The seedlings (3-0 stock) were 

 planted in 1971 at a spacing of 1.8 m in 4-tree row plots replicated 5 times. They were 

 all measured at age 4 (the end of the first field growing season) . The Ida Creek plot 

 was measured again at age 6 and age 8 and the other plantations were measured at age 7. 



2. Elevat'ion-aspect study. --kn attempt was made to evaluate the effects of environ- 

 mental factors related to both elevation and aspect in this test. Study areas were 

 located in two drainages (Marble Creek and Gold Center Creek) near Clarkia, Idaho 



(fig. 1). They consisted of a series of paired plots at 950 m, 1,175 m, and 1,400 m in 

 each drainage. One member of each elevational pair had a southern exposure and the 

 other a northern exposure. In each plot, four trees were chosen to be seed parents and 

 three to be pollen parents. Pollen from the three trees on a plot was mixed. Each seed 

 tree was pollinated with four pollens, the local pollen mix plus pollens from the low-, 

 mid-, and high-elevation north-aspect Marble Creek plots. For this portion of the study 

 seeds from the four trees on a plot were combined for each pollen type. Results of 

 crosses among individual trees within plots are being reported elsewhere (Rehfeldt, in 

 press) . 



A nursery test was conducted at Moscow for 3 years. Seed was soun in plots consist- 

 ing of 2 rows of 18 planting spots. Spacing was 5x10 cm. There were two replicates. 



The seedlings have been outplanted to forest test sites but have not yet been 

 measured . 



3. Natural seleotion study .- -TYxis test was originally designed for studying blis- 

 ter rust resistance, but its potential for studying growth variation within and between 

 stands was soon recognized. Ten stands were located and wind-pollinated seed collected 

 from 50 trees in each. Three of the stands are from the same general areas represented 

 by most of the trees in the vigor-quality study (No. 5 below) and one stand corresponds 

 to one of the elevational study collection areas (fig. 1). Six of the stands fall within 

 the low-elevation zone of the applied program (below 1,000 m) and four within the high 

 zone (above 1,250 m) . 



The seedlings were started and grown for one season in a greenhouse in 5x5x15 cm 

 tar paper plant bands in a soil, sand, peat moss mix. They were then transplanted, still 

 in the plant bands, in the PREF nursery site. Eight seedlings of each of the 497 fami- 

 lies were planted at random in each of 3 replicates. Spacing was 10x10 cm. The seed- 

 lings were given routine nursery care. They were inoculated with spores of the white 

 pine blister rust fungus {Cronavt-lum vihiaola] at age 3 and measured at age 4, before 

 the disease had any noticeable effect on growth. 



Other seedlings from the same families have been outplanted to a field test site 

 but have not been measured yet. 



4. Factorial mating design study .- -lYixs is another test that can serve both blis- 

 ter rust resistance breeding and growth analysis. Three factorial mating designs, one 

 each for the low-, mid-, and high-elevation zones, were established. Four trees were 

 used as pollen parents and approximately 40 trees were used as seed parents in each zone. 

 However, the majority of the seedlings in the test plantation represent only 40 families 

 from each zone (4 pollen parents x 10 seed parents). 



The seedlings were grown for 6 years in replicated row plots at the Moscow nursery. 

 They were inoculated for studying white pine blister rust resistance. No growth measure- 

 ments were taken in the nursery. 



The survivors from the blister rust testing were outplanted to a low (750 m) , 

 nearly flat site at PREF in 1971. A variable number (average 15) of seedlings per 



4 



