Evaluation of drought tolerance of some almond genotypes by morphological, phytochemical and molecular markers in Sulaymaniyah governorate

TL;DR

This study evaluates drought tolerance of almond genotypes in Iraqi Kurdistan using morphological, phytochemical, and molecular markers, identifying diverse genotypes suitable for breeding drought-resistant almond varieties.

Contribution

It integrates morphological, biochemical, and molecular data to assess drought tolerance in almond genotypes, providing new insights for breeding programs in arid regions.

Findings

Different almond genotypes show varying drought tolerance levels.

Genetic diversity correlates with drought adaptation traits.

Potential rootstocks identified for drought-prone environments.

Abstract

The study was carried out during 2017 to 2019 growing seasons at four locations in Sulaimani governorate and one location in Halabja governorate, in the Iraqi Kurdistan region including SH, M, Q, B and H. A huge number almond trees were observed for all locations, among them 38 trees were selected with the best morphological characteristics which were chosen 9,3,5,7 and 14 trees depending on the locations, respectively. A simple experiment was conducted using RCBD for this experiment and means was separated by Duncans test. In order to evaluate their tolerances to drought in glass house, an experiment was conducted at Department of Horticulture, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Sulaimani, that seeds were taken from those genotype trees and stratified then sown in pots. A factorial RCBD experiment was used with two factors genotypes and irrigation intervals. Therefore, thirty eight seedling genotypes grown in pots under glasshouse condition were exposed to three irrigation intervals 10,20 and 40 days after 10 days from seedling emergence. Therefore, the number of treatment combinations was 114 seedlings for each replicate and with a total 342 seedlings for the whole experiment. Analysis of variance was carried out and the means were compared according to LSD 0.05. As a result of the study, the seedlings showed different levels of adaptation to drought that can be used to future breeding programs as rootstocks. The objectives of this study were to identify morphological, phytochemical and genetic diversity with relatedness among the most important almond genotypes in Sulaimani Region which related to drought tolerance to and relationship between morphological, biochemical and molecular data.