Study of Quantitative and Qualitative Characteristics of Some Almond Cultivars in Shahrekord

Discriminating ability of molecular markers and morphological characterization in the establishment of genetic relationships in cultivated genotypes of almond and related wild species

“…For assessing the important agronomic traits and their implication in the cultivar improvement, during the years 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, the following traits were studied according with Sorkheh et al (2007a), Moradi (2005), Dicenta and Garcia (1992), and Sanchez-Perez et al (2007). The morphological traits studied in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 were: In-shell weight (g), nut length (mm), nut width (mm), nut thickness (mm), nut length/width, nut length/thickness, kernel weight (g), kernel length (mm), kernel width (mm), kernel thickness (mm), kernel length/weight, kernel width/thickness, kernel yield (g), doubles kernels (%) (two deformed kernels in the same nut), kernel bitterness (by tasting some almonds by two or three people, classifying each genotypes as sweet, slightly bitter, and bitter), kernel shriveling (scored 1 smooth, 2 intermediate, 3 wrinkle), percentage kernel (%), productivity (scored between 0 = null and 5 = maximum), ripening date (Julian days when 95% of fruits had their mesocarp opened), shell hardness (scored between 1 = very soft and 5 = very hard, by cracking with a hammer), In-shell / kernel ratio (%), shelling percentage (%), empty nuts (%) (nut without kernels) Analysis of variance was performed for all traits in order to test the significance of variation among genotypes and related wild species of almond.…”