Morphological and molecular identification of hybrid apricot genotypes obtained by intra-specific hybridization

Apricot is one of the important stone fruits produced in the world. In this study, genetic variation was investigated based on SRAP marker technique and morphological data in 120 genotypes and parent plants obtained by inbreeding in some apricot cultivars such as Ninfa, Proce de Tyrinthe, Palstein, Hac?halilo?lu, Hasanbey, Aprikoz and Kabaa??. In the study, 15 different combinations of SRAP markers were used and a total of 105 scoreable bands were obtained and 76 of them were determined as polymorphic. The average base lengths of these primers are between 200-1700 bp, the average number of polymorphic bands per primer is 7.0. The mean polymorphism value is 71.64%. The similarity coefficient in the dendrogram created according to the UPGMA method differed between 0.61 and 0.96. According to the dendrogram, 2 main groups were formed. The closest genotypes have a similarity index of 0.96. In the morphological characterization analysis, 120 hybrid individuals were examined with 19 UPOV criteria. No variation was found in terms of petiole nectarium number, dominant numbers and petiole shape characteristics. Variations between hybrids were determined in terms of 16 characteristics such as plant development, plant habitus, amount of branching in the tree, leaf and shoot characteristics. 119 hybrids showed ?reddish brown? coloration, 87 hybrids medium leaf tip, and 116 plants 'double dentate' in terms of incisions of margin. 84 hybrids showed medium petiole incision, 101 hybrids showed medium petiole thickness, and 117 plants showed weak petiole anthocyanin coloration. It is predicted that the morphological and molecular analyzes of the hybrid plants will enable the development of new cultivars and rootstock candidate genotypes. With the results of this study, the genetic variations and morphological classifications determined in the genotypes will guide the further studies on hybrid breeding programs in apricots.