Physico-chemical properties revealed huge diversity in 50 date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) genotypes

ABSTRACT Date palm has excellent economic value all over the world. Date palm genotypes grown in Pakistan are diverse in nature. The current study aimed to explore the diversity in 50 date palm genotypes collected from two different research stations in Punjab, Pakistan. The study findings are as follows: Dhakki had the highest fruit weight, pulp weight, fruit width and fruit volume. Jaman had a longer fruit length. Eedel Shah and Begum Jangi had greater fruit thickness and fruit perimeter, respectively. Makran showed a higher fruit area. Dedhi showed the highest stone weight, thickness and volume. Halmain had a longer stone length, and Sundari had an extended stone width. Makhi exhibited a higher stone perimeter and area. The Danda genotype had low weight and a small length of the stone. Begum Jangi and Peeli Sundar had small stone width. Seib and Shado had a higher moisture content in their fruits. The fruits of Baidhar and Khudraw-2 genotypes had the highest dry matter and reducing sugars. Champa Kali and Shakri had higher TSS levels in fruits. Halmain had higher juice pH. The fruits of Pathri and Makhi genotypes exhibited higher non-reducing sugars and carotenoids. In this study, a dendrogram was constructed to cluster 50 genotypes into five different clusters based on their physico-chemical characteristics. The correlation matrix and variable plot revealed positive and negative correlations between fruits traits and their biochemical properties conducive to the improvement of desired traits. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that Dhakki, Chohara, Baidhar, Karbalaen and Eedel Shah showed a higher genetic diversity; hence, in the scatter plot and biplot, these genotypes deviated from the centre of origin. Physico-chemical characteristics of data palm genotypes indicated a huge diversity among them, which could help select diverse parents, which is important for different breeding purposes.