To the question of the origin of the cultural assortment   of Dagestan apricots through assessing the variability   of leaf morphological characteristics

Aim. The paper presents the results of assessment of the indigenous nature and  degree of similarity of apricot cultivars growing in the collection of the Mountain  Botanical Garden, Gunib, Dagestan, Russia based on a comparative analysis of the  variability of leaf morphological characteristics.   

Material and Methods. The material assessed consisted of 33 apricot cultivars of  various ecological and geographical origins aggregated in the following groups: (a)  Dagestan – traditional cultivars; (b) Moscow ‐ selection from the Tsytsin Main Moscow Botanical Garden, Russian Academy of Sciences based on wild forms of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; (c) European and (d) Asian ‐ from Central Asia, Tajikistan, China  and Altai.   

Results. The closeness of Dagestan and European varieties in comparison with Asian  and Moscow varieties was shown. Most Dagestan (16 of 19) and European varieties  have round‐shaped leaves (leaf shape index 80‐ 100%), while those from Asia and  the Moscow Botanical Garden have leaves which are elongated elliptical and oval  (60‐80%). Using the method of principal component analysis (PCA), it was established that most cultivars of Dagestan origin have similar leaf shapes and sizes, of  which Tlama kurak (wide‐round), Hekobarsh (elongated) were distinguished by leaf  shape and Esdelik by leaf size.   

Conclusion. Based on a discriminant analysis (Squared Mahalanobis Distances), it  was found that the indices of indicators of leaf attributes (width/length of leaf lamina; petiole length/length of lamina; apex angle/corner of leaf base) are more reliable criteria for differentiating apricot varieties into ecological and geographical  groups than their morphological characteristics.  

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