Evaluation of Morphological and Pomological Diversity of 62 Almond Cultivars and Superior Genotypes in Iran

Identification and selection of promising genotypes of fruit tree are primary steps in breeding programs. The economic importance of almond production in the world has stimulated numerous studies related to breeding, quantitative and qualitative traits, the increase of yield and decrease production costs. In this study, morphological and pomological characteristics of 60 cultivar and superior genotypes from Iran, the European Union and the USA were evaluated. Results indicated that tree habit growth, buds, leaf, flowers and fruit attributes were highly diverse among studied cultivar and superior genotypes and, among the varieties and genotypes studied, significant differences revealed in terms of means comparison. Based on the means comparison, the minimum number of buds on the tree was for genotypes “3_12” and the maximum number of buds was for “14_24”. The “Boty” cultivar had the minimum length of nut shell, whereas the “D_99” cultivar had the maximum length. The “Price” cultivar had the minimum width and Marcona had the maximum nutshell width. Cultivars “D_99”and “Marcona” had the minimum and maximum nut shell thickness respectively. Cultivar “2_22” had the minimum kernel length and “D_99” cultivar the maximum. The maximum kernel weight was for “D_99” and the minimum for “SH _15”. The minimum kernel hardness was for genotype “D_124” and the maximum of kernel hardness was for genotypes “16 _30” and “3_17”. In terms of flowering time, cultivars “Sepid” , “Rabie” and “Mamaie” flowered most early and genotypes “D_5” and “D_11” most late. Also the maximum and minimum weight for almonds buds was seen in cultivars “Perlis” and “Sh _10”, respectively. Genotype “D_8” had the maximum bud length and genotype “10_8”the minimum.