Pomological characteristics of some hawthorn genotypes in West Azerbaijan province

This study was performed for evaluation and comparison of 20 hawthorn genotypes from four different species, to introduce superior genotypes in terms of pomology in West Azerbaijan Province. The different treats such as weight, length and width of fruit, peduncle length, length and width of leaf, petiole length, weight, length and width of seed, fruit firmness and fruit color parameters were measured. The largest fruit was observed in Crataegus azarolus species whereas, the smallest fruit was observed in C. monogyna and C. aplosangouainea species. Leaf length and Leaf width had significant correlation with fruit weight, fruit size, seed length and seed width. The five main factors based on factor analysis were explained approximately 89.11 percent of the total variance. According to cluster analysis based on Ward's method, genotypes were divided into three main groups. Genotypes related to C.azarolus var azarolus and several genotypes related to C. aplosangouainea located in group A which had the highest fruit firmness and seed number. In the second group, the genotypes belonging to C. azarolus were located and these genotypes had the highest fruit length, fruit width and fruit weight. In the third group, the genotypes belonging to C. monogyna and several genotypes related to C. aplosangouainea were located and the fruit density, leaf length and a* color index had a significant role in the separation of this group. Results showed that grouping followed species distribution pattern of genotypes. Results obtained might be helpful for breeding programs and introducing of cultivar in hawthorn.