Determination of apricot cultivars based on the morphological features of the fruit

Abstract

The research into the morphological characteristics of the fruit was done over a period of four years, including 30 apricot cultivars. The average mass of the fruit ranged 16.5 g in cv Stella, to 68.1g in cv Selena and it was a feature that showed the highest variability (the average variation coefficient was 32%). Other features such as the fruit dimensions - its thickness, width and height showed lower degree of variation (12-14%), and the lowest variation level was detected in the fruit shape index (11%). The features that were found to be the most important in the identification of the cultivar, were the size (expressed as the fruit mass), the shape (expressed by the means of the shape index, and by a mark according to the IBPGR descriptor) and the supplementary color of the fruit skin. Based on these three properties, the apricot cultivars were classified into groups. It was concluded that the fruit properties alone do not suffice to determine the apricot cultivar, so that it is necessary to take into consideration other properties as well.

Morfološke osobine ploda proučavane su kod 30 sorti kajsije (Prunus armeniaca L.) u periodu od četiri godine. Najveću varijabilnost ispoljila je masa ploda, zatim debljina, širina i visina, a najmanju indeks oblika ploda. Od ispitivanih osobina najveći značaj za determinaciju sorti imaju oblik i masa ploda, kao i dopunska boja pokožice. Na osnovu ove tri osobine izvršena je klasifikacija sorti kajsije.