-Introduction. Iranian almond germplasm is regarded as one of the most diverse and valuable genetics resources for almond improvement. Materials and methods. In the present study, 155 almond genotypes were evaluated to determine the overall degree of variation and to detect superior trees. The variation was observed for traits related to phenology, morphology, yield and fruit quality. Results and discussion. Nut and kernel traits contributed most of the total variation but there were also significant differences in flowering and ripening times. The majority of important correlations were determined between the characteristics representing nut size and kernel size. Cluster and principal component analyses confirmed considerable diversity in the studied germplasm. Conclusion. Genotypes MSh11, MSh100, MSh97, MSh24 and MSh126 were the best trees in terms of flowering season, consistently high fruit set, large nut and kernel size, and low percentage of double kernels. Furthermore, genotypes MSh9 and MSh110 were very late flowering and could be useful in breeding to improve flowering season of almond.

Pomegranates are commonly stored in Iran at temperatures higher than 10°C and RH≈70%. At this storage condition, the fruit are affected by desiccation and loss of quality. In this experiment, the effect of Smartfresh TM (1-MCP) at 1 µl L-1 with hot water treatment (HWT) at 50°C for 5 min and the combination of these two treatments (Smartfresh TM +HWT) were studied in reducing the mentioned problems in 'Malas Saveh' pomegranate fruit. Untreated fruit was used as the control. The fruit were stored at 13°C for 45 days and thereafter, fruits were held further at 20°C for 7 days as a simulated shelf life. Fruit firmness, colour parameters and skinshriveling index were evaluated at the end of storage and after holding, but the fruit quality characteristics were determined only after holding at 20°C. Results showed that the fruit firmness of Smartfresh TM treated fruits was higher than that of other treatments after storage, but after holding, there were no significant differences in fruit firmness among the tested treatments. HWT treated fruit, in contrast with other treated fruit, had lower L* value than the control fruit after storage and after holding. There were no significant differences in a* and b* among the treatments in this trial. The skin-shriveling index of Smartfresh TM treated fruits was significantly lower than that of other treatments after storage and after holding. The skinshriveling indexes of HWT and Smartfresh TM +HWT treatments were lower than that of control after holding, while after storage, no significant differences in skinshriveling indexes were observed among them. Fruit treated with Smartfresh TM had highest titratable acidity and lowest total soluble solids compared to other treatments. Titratable acidity of control fruits was lower than that of HWT and Smartfresh TM +HWT treatments, but there were no significant differences among the control, HWT and Smartfresh TM +HWT treatments in total soluble solids. Smartfresh TM treated fruit had greatest aril moisture and medium juice colour among the tested treatments at this experiment. Overall, Smartfresh TM treatment was more effective than hot water and combination treatments in maintaining the postharvest quality of pomegranate fruit during storage and under holding.

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