Pomological Traits and Genome Size of Prunus armeniaca L. Considering to Geographical Origin

Abstract

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is an important fruit crop and member of the Prunus genus of the Rosaceae family that is planted in many temperate regions worldwide. The quality of fruit is assessed by many pomological parameters which can serve as a decisive factor in apricot breeding, because the introduction of new cultivars is required. These parameters can differ with climate conditions, geographical location or geographic ecological origin. Similarly, another biological characteristic can be measured depending on these terms. The present study was conducted with the aim of estimating pomological traits together with the nuclear DNA content of 35 apricot cultivars with different geographical origins. Only CV values lower than 5% were considered in flow cytometry analysis. All analyzed cultivars were diploid and the genome size value ranged from 0.587 to 0.644 pg/2C, where Turkish apricots reached the highest value (on average 0.628 pg/2C) followed by the European group (on average 0.625 pg/2C). A Spearman-rank correlation was used and the different correlation was found for specific geographical groups of apricot cultivars. The genome size values of apricots and related botanical species P. mume, P. sibirica and P. ansu showed to be very similar values.