Intrapopulation variability of fruit traits of Prunus divaricate Ledeb. in conditions of intramontane Dagestan, Russia

Abstract

The paper presents the results of the analysis of intrapopulation variability and phenotypic diversity of traits in the fruit of Prunus divaricata Ledeb. in the conditions of intramontane Dagestan.
Phenotypic variability was studied in an isolated population of cherry plum, growing on the Gunib plateau in the upper altitudinal limits of the species' distribution (1,600–1,850 m). For quantitative and qualitative recording, 30 individuals in a mature generative state were selected. Morphological descriptions and measurements were carried out based on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the fruit, pit and seed. The population investigated is characterized by low phenotypic variation in quality characteristics with a predominance of very small (up to 5 g) fruits (66.7 %) with an oval fruit shape (80 %) and yellow skin color (56.6 %), sour and sweet‐sour in taste (93.3 %). The seeds are often very small and oval in shape (50 %).
Using the methods of clustering, multidimensional scaling and K‐means of quantitative traits of the fruit, pit and seed, the presence of three clusters (groups) of individuals in the population was established. The first group was formed by phenotypes with the lowest values for all informative characteristics, conventionally termed ‘small‐fruited’, the second group was formed by individuals with relatively large sizes of the fruit, flesh and thickness of the fruit‐stalk – ‘large‐fruited’ and the third group was made up of phenotypes of medium‐sized fruit and high values of pit and seed – ‘large stoned’. The results of one‐way analysis of variance showed significant and high differences between clusters for all characteristics taken into account.