Analysis of phenotypic diversity of apricot (Prunus armeniacaL.) accessions from Jammu and Kashmir, India

Abstract

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is a world-wide highly appreciated fruit, with its attractive colour, soft texture and typical flavour. In the current investigation, 68 apricot accessions collected from Jammu and Kashmir, India were analysed to determine the measure of variation using 12 qualitative and 16 quantitative traits with an aim to identify superior apricot accessions with excellent fruit quality traits. High phenotypic variability was observed among the studied apricot accessions with significant differences among most of the qualitative and quantitative traits. Fruit-related characteristics including fruit weight, fruit length, fruit ratio, fruit firmness, fruit shape, fruit suture, stone weight, kernel weight and stone shape were the most diverse with a high coefficient of variation (>30%). One way analysis of variance showed significant differences (P < 0.0001) among all the quantitative traits. Significant positive and negative correlations were observed between all the agronomically important fruit quality traits. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that 75.34% of the variability was defined by the first eight components. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) dendrogram, based on all traits measured grouped the accessions into two main clusters with several sub-clusters. Both UPGMA dendrogram and PCA scatter plot formed a cluster of 14 accessions, having the highest values regarding most important fruit quality traits such as fruit weight, fruit length and width, fruit ratio, stone weight and kernel weight can be treated as potentially superior accessions. These accessions can be used directly for cultivation and in future apricot breeding programmes. The present findings are promising for genetic resource management, cultivar improvement and commercial applications of apricot in Jammu and Kashmir, India.

Biodiversity Evaluation and Preservation of Italian Stone Fruit Germplasm (Peach and Apricot) in Southern Italy

“…The considered phenotypic traits resulted polymorphic with at least two different categories each ( Figure 3 and Figure S1 ). In general, a huge variation was observed among the cultivars, mostly concerning the fruit’s quality-related attributes, leaf morphology and some phenological traits, as also reported by other authors [ 25 , 49 , 54 , 55 ]. Among the most variable traits were fruit size, shape and acidity, the skin ground color and hue of the skin over-color, the flesh color and adherence to the stone.…”

“…Several studies have analyzed the morphological and genetic diversity of apricot and peach collections, although few have directly compared these two closely related species. Recent works have underlined the great potential of some apricot accessions to be directly cultivated or employed in breeding programs thanks to their high level of phenotypic [ 25 ] and genetic [ 26 , 27 ] variability. Similarly, some studies about peaches mainly aimed to study the genetic variation among cultivars and to preserve the existing variability [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”

In-depth morphological assessment revealed significant genetic variability in common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) and tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) germplasm

“…Germplasm description based on morphological and agronomic characters is of notable prominence for the commencement of crop breeding programmes and documentation of advanced accessions (Pereira-Lorenzo et al ., 2012; Zargar et al ., 2021). Sixty-one buckwheat accessions were studied in the present study based on nine quantitative and eight qualitative traits.…”

Comprehensive Evaluation of Apple Germplasm Genetic Diversity on the Basis of 26 Phenotypic Traits

“…The CVs, which can reflect the variation range of phenotypic traits [28,29], showed that the dispersion degree was highest for the FA among the examined morphological traits of apple germplasm resources. The Shannon-Wiener genetic diversity index can also reflect phenotypic trait diversity [30]. The mean genetic diversity index of the analyzed morphological traits was 0.87, ranging from 0.54 (the FP) to 1.33 (the FOC).…”