Fruit quality parameters and molecular analysis of apple germplasm resources from Van Lake Basin, Turkey

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine some fruit quality characters and genetic variability of native apple germplasm resources from Van Lake Basin, eastern Turkey. With respect to fruit quality characters, apple genotypes had a range of 46.00-94.99 mm for fruit diameter, 43.04-310.99 g for fruit weight, 0.71-1.13 for fruit shape index, 3.99-14.05 kg cm(-2) for fruit flesh firmness, 9.0%-14.4% for soluble solids content, and 0.15%-1.75% for titratable acidity. Five genotypes revealed no alternate bearing and nine genotypes showed partial alternate bearing. The genetic variability was characterized by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) for 35 native apple genotypes belonging to the basin and two standard apple cultivars. The average level of polymorphism across genotypes was 89.29% as revealed by RAPD. The highest genetic similarity was detected between the G10 and G11 (79.31%) genotypes and the similarity rate varied between 38% and 79% among genotypes. According to the dendrogram derived from RAPD data, the G3, G23, G28, and G24 genotypes formed a cluster. These results implied that the Van Lake Basin may be one of the native expansion areas of the genus Malus.