Bwa-yo - Société Audubon Haiti

Figure 14.8 A four-year-old provenance trial
of S. siamea after selective thinning.
Kasya 117
of Haiti through the USAID-funded
agroforestry projects during the 1980s
and early 1990s. S. siamea became the
most widely-planted species in the
project. Up to a million seedlings were
produced annually by PADF alone. An
effort was made in 1988 to import as
many seed lots as possible from international
sources, including southeast
Asia where it is native. These seed
lots, though not strictly considered
provenances, were established in 1989
as "provenance" trials to test for
genetic differences among seed
sources (Fig. 14.8). Also, 37 trees
were selected based on superior traits
throughout Haiti. Many of these were
harvested, propagated from seed, and
established in seedling seed orchards
and arboreta. Several ofthese trials are
represented in Table 14.3 and Figure
14.7.
The remarkable degree of uniformity
in qualitative traits among the
seed lots suggests that the germplasm
available in Haiti and abroad have a
fairly homogenous genetic base. It
should be noted that the 10 imported
accessions were from countries where S. siamea is an exotic and could very well be
derived from the same provenance as the species found its way around the tropics. An
attempt in 1988 to import a wider genetic diversity of S. siamea from native stands in
Thailand failed, but should continue to be a goal, particularly if significant improvements
are to be made in terms of disease resistance and vigor. The seed orchards at
Marmont and Terrier Rouge are comprised of progeny from trees possessing superior
stem form, and these should be studied carefully to assess the environmental effect on
form. There is significant form x site interaction in this species.