Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Arak University, Arak, 38156-8-8349, Iran.
BMC Plant Biol. 2023 Nov 8;23(1):550. doi: 10.1186/s12870-023-04566-4.
Several species of the genus Ziziphus are used worldwide for their medicinal and therapeutic properties. The present study aimed to investigate the phenotypic variation of five species of the Ziziphus genus, including Z. jujuba Mill. (25 accessions), Z. mauritiana Lam. (25 accessions), Z. spina-christi L. (25 accessions), Z. nummularia L. (10 accessions), and Z. xylopyrus Willd. (10 accessions) from Markazi, Sistan-va-Baluchestan, and Khuzestan provinces, Iran.
The investigated accessions have significant differences in terms of all the measured as revealed using analysis of variance (ANOVA, P < 0.01). The range of fruit weight was 0.43-1.29 g in Z. jujuba, 17.85-29.87 g in Z. mauritiana, 0.94-3.44 g in Z. spina-christi, 0.93-2.02 g in Z. nummularia, and 0.91-3.02 g in Z. xylopyrus. All the measured traits showed significant and positive correlations with each other. Multiple regression analysis (MRA) results showed that fruit length, stone width, stone weight, stone length, and fruit width have significant effects on fruit weight, and thus their fluctuations have a significant effect on increasing or decreasing fruit weight. The accessions were grouped into two main clusters using hierarchical cluster analysis. The first cluster (I) included all the accessions of Z. mauritiana, while the second cluster (II) contained the accessions of the rest species forming two sub-clusters.
Based on the commercial characters, accessions no. 12, 13, 17, 23, and 24 in Z. jujuba, accessions no. 3, 9, 17, 18, 20, 22, and 23 in Z. mauritiana, accessions no. 5, 6, 8, 13, 19, 22, and 24 in Z. spina-christi, accessions no. 3, 7, and 9 in Z. nummularia, and accessions no. 2, 4, 7, and 10 in Z. oxyphylla showed the highest fruit weight and thus can be suggested as superior for cultivation or use in breeding programs due to having larger fruits.
几种枣属植物因其药用和治疗特性而在全球范围内被使用。本研究旨在调查来自伊朗马赞德兰、锡斯坦-俾路支斯坦和胡齐斯坦省的枣属的五个物种（25 个枣属 jujuba 品种、25 个枣属 mauritiana 品种、25 个枣属 spina-christi 品种、10 个枣属 nummularia 品种和 10 个枣属 xylopyrus 品种）的表型变异。
方差分析（ANOVA）表明，所调查的品种在所有测量指标上均存在显著差异（P<0.01）。枣属 jujuba 的果实重量范围为 0.43-1.29 克，枣属 mauritiana 的果实重量范围为 17.85-29.87 克，枣属 spina-christi 的果实重量范围为 0.94-3.44 克，枣属 nummularia 的果实重量范围为 0.93-2.02 克，枣属 xylopyrus 的果实重量范围为 0.91-3.02 克。所有测量性状之间均呈显著正相关。多元回归分析（MRA）结果表明，果实长度、石宽、石重、石长和果宽对果实重量有显著影响，因此它们的波动对增加或减少果实重量有显著影响。聚类分析将品种分为两个主要聚类。第一聚类（I）包括所有枣属 mauritiana 的品种，而第二聚类（II）包含其余物种的品种，形成两个亚聚类。
根据商业特征，枣属 jujuba 的品种 12、13、17、23 和 24，枣属 mauritiana 的品种 3、9、17、18、20、22 和 23，枣属 spina-christi 的品种 5、6、8、13、19、22 和 24，枣属 nummularia 的品种 3、7 和 9，以及枣属 xylopyrus 的品种 2、4、7 和 10 的果实重量最高，因此可作为栽培或用于选育的优良品种，因其果实较大。
