Morphological variability of wild pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) accessions from natural habitats in the Northern parts of Iran

Abstract

Wild pomegranates (Punica granatum L.) are considered as functional food with significant health-promoting properties. The objective of the current research was to determine morphological and pomological variability among the wild pomegranate accessions from the Northern parts of Iran. Analysis of variance (P <0.01) revealed meaningful differences among the accessions studied based on all the attributes recorded. Fruit weight ranged from 19.20–185.00 g with an average of 59.89. Fruit peel color showed high variability and ranged from yellow to brown-red. In addition, fresh weight of 100 arils ranged between 5.75 and 27.55 g with an average of 11.77. High range of diversity was observed among the accessions based on aril color including glassy, pale milk, pink, white-red, red, and dark red. Seed hardness was predominantly hard, although some accessions had soft and semi-soft seeds (14 and 48 accessions, respectively). The range of total soluble solids was 9.30-27.00% with an average of 17.09 and fruit taste was sour-sweet in 12 accessions and also sweet in 11 accessions. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that fruit-related characters were important factors in differentiating the accessions. Cluster analysis based on Ward method showed two different major clusters among all the accessions studied. Most of the accessions studied could be selected as a parent in breeding programs for the improvement of juice quality, seed softness, and aril and fruit appearance. The obtained data here could be used to design sampling strategies, create core collections, and establish pomegranate breeding studies.