Identification of Superior Lime Genotypes Based on Fruit Characteristics in Southern Region of Iran

To identify the superior lime genotypes in Southern region of Iran, fruit characteristics of 35 genotypes were investigated during 2014-15. In this study, traits of peel thickness, weight, length and diameter of fruit, total soluble solids (TSS), seed number, volume and density of fruit, juice percent, juice pH, vitamin C and titratable acidity were measured. The results of descriptive statistics showed that the highest coefficient of variations were related to fruit volume, fruit density, seed number and fruit weight (83, 77, 75 and 61 percent, respectively), which showed there is a diversity between genotypes. Furthermore, cluster analysis of Ward's minimum-variance method, divided studied genotypes into three groups. The first group with lower peel thickness, the higher juice percent and higher acidity was categorized into superior group. Overall, The results showed that fruit of some studied lime genotypes had high quantitative and qualitative characteristics and depending on the purpose (in processing or food industry), it could be used to improve various traits for breeding programs.