Evaluation of an almond collection using morphological variables to choose superior trees

Abstract

-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.

Nut and Kernel Characteristics of Exotic and Indigenous Almond (Prunus amygdalus Batsch.) Genotypes under Temperate Conditions of Kashmir Valley

“…Mukhdoom and KD-5 had semi-soft shell however KD-3 and KD-6 were hard in shelling. Soft, moderate and hard type of shell was also reported by earlier workers (Nieddu et al, 1994, Talhouk et al, 2000, Sepahvand et al, 2015. Light (Mukhdoom, Waris and Shalimar), intermediate (Merced and Primorskij, KD-3, KD-5 and KD-6) and dark (Pranyaj) shell colour was obtained in different almond varieties/selections.…”

Horticultural performance of ‘Marinada’ and ‘Vairo’ almond cultivars grown on a genetically diverse set of rootstocks

“…Effect of rootstocks on tree vigor has been widely reported (Atkinson and Else, 2001;Felipe, 1989;Mestre et al, 2015;Reighard et al, 2018;Sepahvand et al, 2015;Yahmed et al, 2016a). However, to our knowledge, this is the first time that two new cultivars such as 'Vairo' and 'Marinada' are being evaluated on this set of rootstocks.…”

Managed honeybees decrease pollination limitation in self-compatible but not in self-incompatible crops

“…This fact also points to the relevance of population genetic aspects of crop pollination management, particularly the inter-compatibility of the different admixed varieties and how these varieties are spatially intermixed [69–72]. Second, honeybees show high floral constancy depending on flower rewards [59,73], morphology [74,75] and colour ([76] and references therein), and crop varieties may differ strongly in these traits (see for example [77]). An extreme example of honeybee constancy related to phenotypic differences can be found in kiwi, where male plants offer pollen as a reward to floral visitors while female plants do not, generating a strong preference for male flowers by honeybees [78].…”