Pomological Study of Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) Cultivars From Tunisia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to characterize the major orange cultivars from Tunisia and to study the genetic diversity within this fruit tree species. This work was conducted in the framework of the activities of the fruit tree network in the Tunisian National Gene Bank. The pomological diversity of 28 Tunisian sweet orange cultivars was analyzed based on 18 qualitative and quantitative traits. Different regions of Tunisia, where orange cultivation is prominent, were investigated. Principal components analysis conducted on quantitative traits showed an important degree of variability of about 94% for the three first principal components. Factorial analysis of correspondence was conducted for qualitative data and it showed 69% of the total diversity for the three first factors. A dendrogram was constructed based on average distances. Results showed that the geographic origin was not the determinant criteria for cultivar segregation. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.