Abstract
Genetic improvement of tree crops cultivated for their fruits or seeds does not usually take into account the physical properties of their wood. Yet, wood breakage in coffee trees during harvests or lodging are major defects in some cultivars. Such defects are linked to certain physical properties of the wood, such as elasticity, which is characterized by a parameter used in resistance testing of materials: the modulus of elasticity (MOE), or Young's modulus. The MOE of several coffee clones (Coffea canephora) was therefore evaluated in the Ivory Coast and in Togo. An estimation of broad sense heritability for the MOE gave a value of around 0.3. The species can therefore be genetically improved for this parameter. The MOE could also be used to predict certain traits of agronomical interest. Moreover, it is necessary to estimate this parameter to model coffee tree architecture, notably with a view to establishing eco-physiological models. The measuring method is to be improved, so as to obtain more accurate estimations.