Classification of Wild Apricot Genotypes (Prunus armeniaca L.) Using Principle Component and Cluster Analysis

In this study, the relationships among fruit characters on 37 genotypes, previously selected from the population wild apricot of Gumushane (Turkey) have been researched. In order to find the main variation trends between fruit and seed characters in the zerdali forms and to evaluate their correlation, data were processed according to the principal component analysis (PCA). As a result of correlation analysis, it is seen that some important relationships are found among the fruit, the seed and the fruit juice characteristics of wild apricot. The relations among fruit weight and other characteristics, except the total dry matter, have been found positive and significant. The highest relations regarding fruit weight have been observed between fruit size and flesh/seed ratio. Four groups are created according to the classification of multivariate cluster analysis; the group components consist of the following characteristics; the first component (PCA1: 33.41%); fruit thickness, fruit width, fruit weight, flesh/seed ratio and fruit length; the second component (PCA2: 20.90%); seed weight, kernel weight, seed width and seed thickness; the third component (PCA3: 13.04%); seed length, titratable acidity and pH; the fourth component (PCA4: 11.75%); soluble solids content and total dry matter. Consequently, with this study, it can be said that the knowledge that fruit weight and fruit size, seed weight and seed size, fruit acidity and pH, soluble solids content and total dry matter values can create a group, can be used; and therefore it will decrease workload and waste of time in selective breeding studies to be done on wild apricot. Keywords: Wild apricot, Prunus armeniaca, classification, principal component analysis, cluster analysis Temel Bilesen ve Kumeleme Analizi ile Zerdali ( Prunus armeniaca L.) Genotiplerinin Siniflandirilmasi Ozet Bu calismada daha onceden Gumushane (Turkiye) ilindeki zerdali populasyonu icerisinden secilmis 37 genotip uzerinde onemli meyve karakterleri arasindaki iliskiler arastirilmistir. Genotiplerde meyve ve tohum ozellikleri arasindaki temel degisimleri bulmak icin veriler temel bilesen analizine (PCA) gore degerlendirilmistir. Yapilan korelasyon analizleri sonucunda zerdalide meyve, tohum ve meyve suyu ozellikleri arasinda bazi onemli iliskilerin ciktigi gorulmustur. Meyve agirligi ile diger ozellikler arasindaki iliskiler, toplam kuru madde haric, pozitif ve onemli bulunmustur. Meyve agirligi ile en yuksek iliskiler meyve boyutlari ile meyve eti / cekirdek orani arasinda gorulmustur. Cok degiskenli kumeleme analizi ile siniflandirmada olusan dort gruptan birinci bilesende (PCA1: %33.41) meyve kalinligi, meyve eni, meyve agirligi, et cekirdek orani ve meyve boyu; ikinci bilesende (PCA2: %20.90) cekirdek agirligi, cekirdek ici agirligi, cekirdek eni ve cekirdek kalinligi; ucuncu bilesende (PCA3: %13.04) cekirdek boyu, asitlik ve pH; dorduncu bilesende (PCA4: %11.75) suda cozunur kuru madde miktari ve toplam kuru madde ozellikleri yer almistir. Sonuc olarak, bu calisma ile zerdalide yapilacak seleksiyon islahi calismalarinda genel olarak meyve agirligi ile meyve boyutlari, cekirdek agirligi ile cekirdek boyutlari, meyve asitligi ile pH ve suda cozunur kuru madde miktari ile toplam kuru madde degerlerinin bir grup olusturabilecegine dair bilginin kullanilabilecegi; zaman kaybini ve is yukunu azaltabilecegi soylenebilir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Zerdali, Prunus armeniaca , siniflandirma, temel bilesen analizi, kumeleme analizi