A Comparative Study of Genetic Diversity, Heritability and Inter-relationships of Tree and Nut Attributes between Prunus scoparia and P. elaeagnifolia using Multivariate Statistical Analysis

By applying multivariate statistical analysis, this research aimed to estimate the heritability and find relationships between the vegetative and reproductive characteristics of Prunus scoparia and Prunus elaeagnifolia. Twenty genotypes of each species were selected randomly from cultivated populations and twenty-two traits including the tree, leaf, flower, nut and kernel attributes were measured. Results showed that there were high levels of genotypic and phenotypic variations among the genotypes of both species. Many of the measurements pertaining to the leaf, flower, nut and kernel, showed very high heritability (H2 >90%) in both species, whilst some traits such as shoot diameter in P. scoparia and kernel moisture in both species had very lower heritability (H2