One of the major limiting factors in the intensive spread of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) in most of the countries is spring frost. Thus, the breeding efforts have concentrated on the use of late-blooming genotypes as a means of frost avoidance. The aim of the present study was to identify late-blooming genotypes with high fruit quality among seedling-originated trees. Firstly, pre-selections were done according to blooming time within 278 apricot seedling-originated trees. Secondly, the late-blooming selections were further evaluated according to their vegetative and fruit characteristics to determine superior types. Significant differences were observed among the late-blooming genotypes in terms of the traits recorded. Fruit ground color was strongly variable, including white, yellow, yellow-green, light orange, orange, and dark orange. Fruit weight ranged from 27.37 to 33.99 g, fruit flesh thickness varied from 11.16 to 13.47 mm, and total soluble solids varied between 17.00% and 23.87%. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) performed with Euclidean distance and Ward's method divided the genotypes into two main clusters based on morphological traits and in some cases, the genotypes belonging to an area were clustered into different clusters. All the 48 late-blooming date genotypes selected could be useful as a parent to improve flowering season of cultivars. Also, among them, 10 genotypes were superior in terms of fruit quality-related characters, such as fruit weight, fruit color, fruit taste, and TSS, and thus they can be singled out for cultivation.
Keywords: apricot; breeding; cultivation; fruit quality; late blooming.
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