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Identification of late-blooming almond (Prunus dulcis L.) genotypes with high kernel quality

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Abstract

Almond (Prunus dulcis L.) is one of the most important nut crops in the world. The present study was carried out to select the late-blooming almond genotypes with high kernel quantity and quality. In the first step, pre-selection was done based on blooming time among a large number of almond seedling trees. Early and middle blooming genotypes were eliminated and finally, 76 genotypes were selected. Then, in the second step, late-blooming trees were evaluated based on vegetative and fruit traits to identify the superior genotypes. The selected late-blooming genotypes showed significant morphological and pomological differences (P < 0.05). Nut weight ranged from 2.03 to 7.68 g with an average of 4.22. Kernel weight ranged from 1.20 to 2.31 g with an average of 1.52 g. Nut weight and kernel weight with high standardized beta coefficients showed positive and significant associations with kernel percentage and therefore they had a great impact on this key character and should be considered in breeding programs. Considering the ideal values of the important and commercial traits of almond, 14 genotypes were superior and thus they could be cultivated in orchards and/or to be used as a parent for crosses to create suitable populations or to improve blooming time, kernel quality, and nutritional values of almond cultivars.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Arak University, Arak, 38156-8-8349, Iran

    Ali Khadivi & Somayeh Goodarzi

  2. Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Ali Sarkhosh

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  1. Ali Khadivi
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  2. Somayeh Goodarzi
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  3. Ali Sarkhosh
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Correspondence to Ali Khadivi.

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Khadivi, A., Goodarzi, S. & Sarkhosh, A. Identification of late-blooming almond (Prunus dulcis L.) genotypes with high kernel quality. Euphytica 215, 166 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-019-2495-1

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