Comparison of Old and Local Apple Varieties and Seedlings (Malus domestica Borkh.) in the Variability of Some Morphological Characters of Fruits and Seeds

Abstract

Old and local varieties of cultivated plant species selected from natural populations adapted to long-term cultivation, which represent a rich genetic potential for the development of agroecosystems and agriculture under specific conditions, resources for an environment aestheticization, landscaping and development of cultural traditions. The research focused on determining the economic value of a selected collection of old and local varieties of apple tree (Malus domestica Borkh.), widespread in Slovakia for their practical use in organic farming or as genetic resources for breeding new varieties for organic food production. For experimental evaluation, we used two collections: 1) 73 old and local varieties of apple trees concentrated and preserved ex situ in a clone repository in the village Bacúch; 2) 77 self-sown seedlings, that spontaneously emerged as a result of free pollination and are growing in situ around Nitra, Levice, Nové Zámky, Šaľa, Galanta, Hlohovec, Piešťany, Prievidza, Partizánske, Zlaté Moravce. We determined for all specimens the range for the weight of fruits 53.63–207.40/16.13–197.59 (g), height of fruits 41.47–72.93/ 29.55–74.04 (mm), diameter of fruits 51.46–84.66/36.85–78.43 (mm), length of core/13.16–27.36/11.24– 25.86 (mm), diameter of core 18.26–33.46/13.72–30.86 (mm), weight of 10 seeds 0.38–0.77/0.29–0.98 (g), height of seeds 6.68–9.90/6.16–9.83 (mm), diameter of seeds 3.73–5.71/3.51–5.27 (mm). The results document that in both collections there are genotypes suitable for organic cultivation, and further selective improvement.