Variation in cone, seed, and kernel nutritional components traits of Pinus koraiensis

Abstract Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc. (Korean pine) is an evergreen coniferous tree species with significant therapeutic and nutritional value in northeastern China. To assess variation and select highly productive and nutritionally valuable materials, 25 cone, seed, and kernel nutritional components traits were measured and analyzed. Coefficients of variation for phenotypic traits ranged from 6.32 % to 161.51 %, and the coefficients of most traits were approximately 10 %. Most traits showed significant or extremely significant differences among clones or groups, especially for amino acid content. Cone numbers were under moderate genetic control, and their repeated ability ranged from 0.42 to 0.53. Most other traits were under high genetic control, and their repeated ability was higher than 0.70. Despite the weak correlation with seed traits, cone number had strong correlations with other characters. Four principal components were obtained with a cumulative variance contribution of 93.51 %. The selected elite material will provide a theoretical basis for selection and breeding of P. koraiensis.