engleski

Variation of Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) Populations in Croatia According to the Morphology of Fruits

In Croatia sweet chestnut grows in very diverse ecological conditions, in various forest communities, on an area of about 35000 ha. It provides direct and indirect benefits (high-quality wood, edible fruits, honey, firewood, preventing soil erosion, maintaining the watershed etc.) and it also contributes to the distinctive character of landscapes. Sweet chestnut is among the priority species for the conservation of genetic resources in Croatia. In the last 50 years it has been seriously threatened due to chestnut blight. The aim of this study was to asses the interpopulation and intrapopulation variability of sweet chestnut populations in Croatia according to the morphology of fruits. Nuts were sampled in 10 natural populations, from the whole area of sweet chestnut distribution range in Croatia. Each population was represented by 10 mature trees and each tree by 30 nuts. Nine morphological traits and seven indeces were analysed. Univariate and multivariate statistical techniques were used to evaluate the differences among and within populations.

sweet chestnut; fruits; morphology; Croatia

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