Identification of superior apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) genotypes among seedling origin trees

Abstract

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is one of the most popular temperate fruit tree species. In the current investigation, morphological and pomological variabilities of 98 apricot seedling origin trees were studied. There were significant differences among the genotypes studied based on the characters measured. Flowering time as one of the most important components showed great variabilities among the genotypes and was very late in 7 and late in 39 genotypes. Most of the genotypes showed high and very high fruit yield. Fruit weight ranged from 7.30–69.60 g and seven genotypes had fruit weight more than 50.00 g. Fruit skin ground color was significantly different among the genotypes and varied from white to dark orange. Fruit weight showed positive and meaningful correlations with leaf and fruit dimensions, while it was negatively correlated with fruit yield. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the variables contributing to fruit size were more important in explaining the variation among the genotypes. Cluster analysis classified the genotypes into two major clusters and revealed high variation among them. Regarding ideal values of the important characters of apricot such as high spring frost tolerance, late-flowering time, high fruit yield, high fruit size, sweet taste, and different skin ground color, 14 genotypes including Rajabali, Shahrood-10, Shahrood-2, Shahrood-1, Shahrood-4, Shahrood-8, Ghiasi, Ghavami, Kelidar-19, Khibeai, Kelidar-27, Shahrood-13, Shahrood-7, and Shahrood-11 were promising and might be cultivated in orchards and also could be used as a parent in breeding programs.