Assessment of phenotypic diversity of some date palm male genotypes growing under Egyptian conditions

• Published in: Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura 2023-01, Vol.45
• Main Authors: Elboghdady, Ahmed Elboghdady Ahmed, Gomma, Amina Hamed, Hamed, Amany Mostafa, Abdallatif, Abdou Mohamed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: HORTICULTURE; morphological identification; phenotypic diversity; Phoenix dactylifera; pollinizers
• ISSN: 0100-2945; 1806-9967; 1806-9967
• DOI: 10.1590/0100-29452023896

Abstract Artificial pollination is a prerequisite to achieve a sufficient yield of palm trees; hence the identification of superior male palm trees as a standard pollen source for date palm growers has a high priority. The current study was carried out to assess phenotypic diversity among four date palm males namely Hayani, Meghal, Fardh, and Ghannami Ahmer. The genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships between palm genotypes were performed using eighteen quantitative morphological parameters of both vegetative and reproductive parts (leaf, leaflets, spines, and spathe). Principal components analysis and hierarchical clustering was performed to identify the differences and similarities between the studied genotypes. Results showed significant differences in morphological parameters between the four male palm trees. Most of the selected morphological parameters could be used as quantitative markers for the identification of date palm male genotypes. Principal component analysis showed that, the studied parameters formed two major homogeneous groups of variables, which possessed a high proportion of the observed phenotypic diversity among the studied date palm males. Cluster analysis showed that Fardh, Ghannami Ahmer, and Meghal, are closer related than Hayani; Ghannami and Fardh males showed the highest genetic similarity while the lowest similarity index was detected between Hayani and Ghannami Ahmer males. Resumo A polinização artificial é um pré-requisito para obter bom rendimento de tamareiras; portanto, a identificação de tamareiras masculinas superiores como fonte padrão de pólen para produtores de tamareiras é de suma importância. O presente estudo foi realizado para avaliar a diversidade fenotípica entre quatro genótipos masculinos de tamareiras, a saber: Hayani, Meghal, Fardh e Ghannami Ahmer. A diversidade genética e as relações filogenéticas entre os genótipos de tamareiras foram realizadas usando dezoito parâmetros morfológicos quantitativos das partes vegetativa e reprodutiva (folha, folíolos, espinhos e espata). A análise de componentes principais e do agrupamento hierárquico foi realizada para identificar as diferenças e as semelhanças entre os genótipos estudados. Os resultados mostraram diferenças significativas dos parâmetros morfológicos entre os quatro genótipos masculinos. A maioria dos parâmetros morfológicos selecionados poderia ser usada como marcadores quantitativos para a identificação de genótipos masculinos de tamareira. A