Morphological and Physiological Traits in Seedlings’ Populations Obtained from the Hybridization of Promising Genotypes of Quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.)

Figure 1

Descriptive statistics for values of assessed features in the quince populations (averages for 2017–2018)

Characteristics	Minimum	Maximum	Mean	Standard deviation	Coefficient variation (%)
Leaf length	3.4	4.1	3.8	0.2	5.8
Leaf width	2.4	3.8	3	0.4	13.5
Chlorophyll content	2	3.9	2.9	0.7	23.9
Chlorophyll Index	49.9	78.6	56.7	9.2	16.1
Leaf iron content	112	224	178.4	32.5	18.2
Catalase Activity	0.001	0.01	0.009	0.0009	9.3
Peroxidase Activity	0.02	0.07	0.04	0.02	42.5
Seedling height	39.6	60.04	49.4	5.9	12.0
Seedling diameter	8.8	11.06	10.2	0.8	8.3
Canopy width	22	52.8	39.7	9.2	23.1
Annual growth	5.9	9.5	7.6	1.1	15.0
Annual shoot diameter	6.5	9.3	7.6	0.9	11.9
Angle of the primary shoots	41	55.5	51.5	4.7	9.09
Internode length	1.4	1.8	1.6	0.1	8.03

Values of assessed features in the quince populations (averages for 2017–2018)

Population	ChlC	FeC	CAT	POD	SH	SD	CW	AG
1	3.06b	167c	9.2b	17.9d	48.7ab	10.8a	37.8b	5.9c
2	2c	171c	10a	35.7c	60.04a	10.5ab	45.5ab	8.4ab
3	2.3c	224a	10.2a	64.5a	45.6ab	11.06a	39.2b	7.5abc
4	3.04b	201ab	7.5c	25.1d	49.5ab	10.3ab	39.3b	7.4abc
5	3.9a	112d	10.2a	40.5c	51.9ab	10.7a	52.8a	9.5a
6	2.2c	178.5bc	10.2a	53.6b	52.8ab	8.9b	46.5ab	8.4ab
7	3.7ab	181bc	10a	69.3a	39.6b	8.8b	34.8b	7.09abc
8	3.3ab	193bc	10.2a	70.7a	45.6ab	10.4ab	22c	6.6bc

Characteristics of parents used for creating new quince populations

Parents	Characteristics
‘Viduja’ (KVD1)	Early flowering, high yield, fruit production on short branches (spore), dwarf, small to medium fruit, sweet and low astringency fruit, favorable edible quality, relative tolerance to fire blight
KVD2	Early flowering, high yield, fruit production on short branches (spore), medium to large fruit, relatively good edible quality, longer storage period than ‘Viduja’, more canopy width and tree height than others
KVD4	Early flowering, high yield, fruit production on short branches (spore), dwarf, medium to large fruit, sour fruit, high leaf phenol content, higher catalase, and peroxidase activity, chlorophyll content in leaves as well as longer storage period than others

Correlation for values of assessed features in the quince populations (averages for 2017–2018)

	ChlI	SH	SD	CW	AG	ASD	LL	LW	APS	IL	FeC	CAT	POD	ChlC
ChlI	1
SH	0.769*	1
SD	0.019	0.669	1
CW	0.095	0.383	0.675	1
AG	−0.619	−0.385	−0.054	0.786*	1
ASD	−0.401	−0.180	0.262	0.691	0.616	1
LL	0.256	0.241	0.208	0.765*	−0.211	0.451	1
LW	0.298	−0.127	−0.634	−0.482	0.133	−0.405	−0.069	1
APS	0.242	−0.183	−0.213	0.174	−0.180	0.169	0.495	0.183	1
IL	0.11	0.318	0.356	0.485	0.440	0.283	0.313	0.356	−0.024	1
FeC	−0.172	0.182	−0.008	−0.374	−0.386	−0.469	−0.158	−0.153	−0.430	−0.493	1
CAT	0.112	0.168	−0.307	−0.555	−0.482	−0.628	−0.132	0.192	−0.179	−0.513	0.895**	1
POD	−0.184	−0.293	−0.606	−0.306	0.415	0.126	0.128	0.622	0.225	0.085	0.131	0.357	1
ChlC	−0.585	−0.768	−0.378	0.068	0.249	0.538	0.146	−0.355	0.135	−0.454	−0.056	−0.160	0.162	1

Evaluated characteristics of seedlings, units, abbreviations, and methods of evaluation

Trait	Units	Abbreviation	Measurement method	Time of measurement
Leaf length	cm	LL	Ruler	July
Leaf width	cm	LW	Ruler	July
Chlorophyll content	mg·g−1 FW	ChlC	Protocol	July
Chlorophyll Index	-	ChlI	SPAD	July
Leaf iron content	mg·kg−1	FeC	Protocol	July
Catalase Activity	nmol·min−1·g FW−1	CAT	Protocol	July
Peroxidase Activity	nmol·min−1·g FW−1	POD	Protocol	July
Seedling height	cm	SH	Meter	after leaf abscission
Seedling diameter	mm	SD	Caliper	after leaf abscission
Canopy width	cm	CW	Meter	after leaf abscission
Annual growth	cm	AG	Ruler	after leaf abscission
Annual shoot diameter	mm	ASD	Caliper	after leaf abscission
Angle of the primary shoots	degree	APS	protractor	after leaf abscission
Internode length	cm	IL	Ruler	after leaf abscission