Abstract:
Selection of superior chance seedling genotypes is
an important task in pear breeding
programs. This research was carried out in order to
explore and evaluate some of
European pear (
Pyrus
communis
L.) chance seedling genotypes that are primarily u
sed as
rootstock for the Asian pear (
Pyrus
serotina
Rehd.) in Tarbiat Modares University (TMU)
Asian Pear Collection Orchard. After four years vis
ual observations of the genotypes, the
evaluation process started on the pre-selected geno
types in order to identify the superior
promising individuals during 2009 and 2010 growing
seasons. Selected chance seedling
genotypes were A
95
, A
101
, A
189
, A
195
, and A
374
. A local commercial cultivar `Shahmiveh’
was used as a reference and labeled as A
238
in the evaluation program database. Results
showed significant differences among the studied ge
notypes in most of the evaluated
characters. Among the studied genotypes, genotype A
95
showed indications of appropriate
fruit physicochemical properties and higher fruit q
uality compared with the reference
cultivar. Good fruit aroma as well as a reddish bac
kground skin color, highest acidity and
lowest pH among the examined genotypes were other s
uperior characters of A
95
. Based on
the measured characters compared with `Shahmiveh' a
s a good reference commercial
Iranian pear cultivar, we conclude that A
95
showed superiority and higher rank in flavor,
fruit color, and attractiveness. Also, this promisi
ng genotype showed a good productivity
potential in terms of producing higher yield with a
suitable supporting vigor. Further
research on the standard rootstocks within the TMU
pear breeding program will continue
in the framework of final new cultivar release prog
ram.
Keywords:
Fruit physicochemical characteristics, Morphologica
l characteristics, Pear
breeding program, Promising pear genotype.
