Analysis of apricot germplasm from the European ecogeographical group

Morphological, phenological and fruit quality traits of 55 apricot cultivars, including the most important clones grown in Spain, France and Italy, were evaluated using principal component analysis. Given that the studied material was made up of commercial cultivars, the range of variation observed was narrower than expected. Variation was observed for traits related to phenology and fruit quality. The only correlation observed between morphology and phenology was that of blossom and budbreak season being correlated with internode length. Harvest season was negatively correlated with acidity and not correlated with total soluble solids (TSS). Native cultivars from Spain and Tunisia are a good source of early ripening but they lack fruit size and postharvest handling qualities, respectively. The most appreciated fruit quality characteristics were present in several cultivars.