Morphological variability of Prunus lycioides Spach germplasm using multivariate analysis

Pnrnus lycioides Spach is an endemic Iranian species of the subgenus Amygdalus in family Rosaceae. The present investigation was carried out to evaluate morphological and fruit characteristics of this species from Markazi province in Iran. Some characters evaluated showed significant variabilities among the individuals studied. Branch leaf length ranged from 20.96 to 26.15 mm, while branch leaf width varied from 1.60 to 3.92 mm. In addition, spur leaf length ranged between 14.32 and 28.83 mm and spur leaf width varied between 1.96 and 3.51 mm. Nut length ranged from 9.04 to 13.24 mm and nut width varied from 6.54 to 9.26 mm. Nut weight ranged from 0.14 to 0.37 g with an average of 0.27 and kernel weight varied from 0.06 to 0.16 g with an average of 0.09. Full blooming date varied from 03 to 18 April and fruits were ripened from 28 June to 10 July. Kernel weight showed positive and significant correlations with nut and kernel dimensions. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the variables contributing to nut and kernel are more important in explaining the variation among the individuals. Ward dendrogram generated using Euclidean distance based on all morphological data separated the individuals into two major clusters. The current findings emphasize the usefulness of wild P. lycioides species in almond breeding programs and thus this valuable genetic resource must be conserved.