Variation Among and Within Dogrose Taxa ( Rosa sect. caninae ) in Fruit Weight, Percentages of Fruit Flesh and Dry Matter, and Vitamin C Content

Abstract

Important fruit traits were screened in a plant breeding program concerning a newly domesticated crop in Sweden of rose hips. The taxa Rosa dumalis subsp. coriifolia , R . dumalis subsp. dumalis , R . rubiginosa and R . villosa subsp. mollis, collected from 23 localities in Scandinavia, were investigated for fruit weight, percentage of fruit flesh, percentage of dry matter and vitamin C content. R . dumalis subsp. coriifolia, R . dumalis subsp. dumalis and R . villosa subsp. mollis had significantly larger fruits and a higher percentage of fruit flesh than R . rubiginosa. Analysis of intraspecific variation showed that R. dumalis subsp . coriifolia was the most variable taxon, followed by R . dumalis subsp. dumalis and R . villosa subsp. mollis , whereas R. rubiginosa showed the most restricted variability. A highly significant positive correlation was found between fruit weight and percentage fruit flesh which in turn showed a moderate negative correlation with percentage dry matter.