Preliminary study on the reproductive phenology of Eucalyptus urophylla in Huimanguillo, Tabasco (Mexico)

Abstract

Objective: to describe the reproductive phenology of Eucalyptus urophylla in Huimanguillo, Tabasco. Design/ Methodology/ Approach: this is a preliminary, descriptive, and non-experimental study of the different stages of the reproductive phenology cycle of E. urophylla conducted in a 16-year-old provenance-progeny trial with 63 half-sib families. The study was done during 2019, 2020 and 2021. Results: the reproductive cycle of E. urophylla lasts approximately one year. There was a lag of about a month and a half for the beginning of flowering among genotypes that flowered during the three years of evaluation. Study Limitations/ Implications: the results are limited to a single site condition; so, it is recommended to make evaluations in other locations. This is, to observe plant behavior in different site conditions to evaluate the potential of the species development in southeastern Mexico. Findings/ Conclusions: the beginning of the reproductive cycle of E. urophylla coincided with that of other species of the genus from tropical and subtropical climate. However, the duration differed compared to other genotypes of the same species growing in other parts of the world under similar environmental conditions. This study allowed to know relevant information of the species in Huimanguillo, Tabasco, which will contribute to improve the process of domestication of this species in the southeast of Mexico.