Heritability estimates and the variation of pomological traits, total phenolic compounds, and antioxidant capacity in two apricot progenies

Abstract

Even though pomological traits are important in fruit breeding for quality, antioxidant capacity and the total content of phenolic compounds have also gained importance, together with a rising awareness of their health benefits. As a result, this study was conducted to evaluate the variation and heritability levels of antioxidant capacity and total phenolic compounds, as well as pomological traits in 'Hacihaliloglu' x 'Stark Early Orange' and 'Cataloglu' x 'Stark Early Orange' apricot crosscombinations based on phenotypic assessments of fruit samples. The results indicated significant differences among F-1 progenies in the samples involved in the study. Broad-sense heritability coefficients ranged from 0.59 to 0.98 in the combinations examined. Parent-offspring regression coefficients for antioxidant capacity and total phenolic compounds were calculated to be 0.433 and 0.164, respectively. The results of the study can be useful in deciding selection strategies and choosing parents in relevant breeding programs.