Abstract
Shallots are an edible Alliaceous crop representing a group of genetically and morphologically different species. Shallot species determination is rather complex due to the high variability in phenotypes within a single species. Flower morphology has been successfully employed in shallot species determination; however, shallot florogenesis depends upon many genetic and environmental factors. There is a need for more accessible morphological descriptors used in shallot species determination, since flowering in shallot may not be consistent. In this study, we investigated the discriminating power of shallot vegetative and bulb morphology descriptors. European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources morphology descriptors were used for describing 35 Croatian shallot accessions. The proposed methodology based on vegetative and bulb morphological descriptors could be used for shallot species discrimination. Additionally, two subtypes of A. cepa Aggregatum group were identified in this study: the first being the shallot type (1) and a potato onion type (2), which differed based on bulb morphology descriptors (bulb shape, bulb skin color, and a number of bulblets).
Highlights
Edible Allium species are one of the most important and represented vegetable crops in the world [1] as they refer to a number of species such as onion, garlic, leek, bunching onion, and different varieties of shallots [2,3]
Based on the number of weeks after planting (WAP) acquired until flowering, the Croatian accessions were divided into three groups: WAP, WAP, and WAP (Table 1 and Table S1)
This study confirmed the proposed methodology and results based on the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) of flower morphology descriptors presented in Major et al [21]
Summary
Edible Allium species are one of the most important and represented vegetable crops in the world [1] as they refer to a number of species such as onion, garlic, leek, bunching onion, and different varieties of shallots [2,3]. Shallot is a common name for genetically and morphologically different species and genotypes that are cultivated all over the world and characterized by the edible, vegetatively reproduced bulbs gathered in clusters [4,5,6]. Ex situ collections are a valuable source of plant material for further breeding programs, morphological characterizations of germplasm, assessing genetic erosion, and conservation of biodiversity [11,12]. Propagated European Alliums including shallot landraces and cultivars are preserved in ex situ and core collections at the INRA, Ploudaniel, France; IPK, Gatersleben Germany; RIVGB, Olomouc, Czech Republic; RICP, Prague Czech Republic; NordGen and Swedish National Program for Diversity of Cultivated Plants [13]. There is a vast number of morphologically diverse shallot cultivars in local and regional collections
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