investigation the relationship between fruit morphologic characteristics and quality in tomato lines via correlation coefficients and path analysis

to investigate the genotypic and phenotypic relationship between characteristics affecting tomato fruit weights, eleven tomato lines were compared in a rcb design with three replications. the anova showed that the difference among lines was significant for all characteristics. there was a significant phenotypic and genotypic correlations between fruit weight and most of the characteristics. the highest amount of phenotypic and genotypic correlations were obtained between fruit diameter and weight. the regression analysis showed the highest effect on the fruit weight was due to the fruit diameter and the fruit length/diameter ratio which controls 92% of its variation. the path analysis on genotypic correlation revealed the fruit length which, number of locules and total phenol had the greatest direct effects on the fruit weight and fruit length which had indirect effect on fruit weight via percentage of total soluble solids, fruit diameter, number of locules, total acidity, fruit length and diameter, number of locules and fruit pericarp thickness. the path analysis of phenotypic correlation showed that the fruit pericarp thickness, total phenol, fruit diameter had the greatest direct effects and fruit pericarp thickness had indirect effect on fruit weight via fruit length and diameter and number of locules, respectively.