A breeding project: The selection of promising apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) genotypes with late blooming time and high fruit quality

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is one of the most important stone fruits grown in the world, basically due to its good taste and multi uses. In many areas of world and also Iran, apricot production is limited by spring frosts that can damage the sensitive non-dormant tissues. The current study was conducted within a seedling population of apricot to select superior genotypes in term of consistent late-flowering date and high fruit quality. In the first step, the pre-selection was carried out according to flowering date among 894 genotypes. As a result of pre-selection, 73 trees were late-flowering. Then, the selected 73 late-flowering trees were further evaluated according to vegetative and fruit characteristics. The variation was observed for traits related to fruit. Variability found in fruit weight was between 33.01 and 66.01 g, in fruit flesh weight between 31.45-62.43 g, and in total soluble solid (TSS) between 15.00-23.00%. Fruit dimensions and weight were in significant positive correlation with each other. Cluster and principal component analyses confirmed considerable diversity in the studied germplasm. All of the studied 73 late-flowering genotypes could be useful as a parent to improve flowering season of cultivars. Furthermore, among them, nine genotypes including Gharekahriz-69, Gharekahriz-65, Gharekahriz-13, Gharekahriz-47, Gharekahriz-59, Gharekahriz-34, Gharekahriz-17, Gharekahriz-58 and Gharekahriz-38 were superior in terms of consistent high fruit quality and can be singled out for cultivation.