Analysis of clonal variations in cultivated quince ( <i>Cydonia oblonga</i> ‘Kalecik’) based on fruit characteristics and SSR markers

Abstract

Abstract This study assessed uniformity within a quince cultivar ( Cydonia oblonga ’Kalecik'). The fruit traits of six different clones within ‘Kalecik’ quince plantations were evaluated over a 2‐year period. Additionally, clones were genetically analysed at seven SSR (microsatellite) loci (CH01f02, CHOlhOl, CH01h10, CH01d08,CH02b12,KA16, and KA14). According to important fruit characteristics, clone 6 was selected as the best in both years. This clone had a lower fruit skin colour hue value (92.7–88.5°), higher soluble solid content (15.6–16.5%), better flavour and taste, lower pubescence, and lower total pectin content (5.4–4.8 × 10 −3 mg galacturonic acid g −1 ), than had other clones. SSR analyses revealed that clone 4 was genetically distant from other clones (c. 50%). In the current study, SSR analyses suggest sufficient clonal variations within ‘Kalecik’ quince.