Pomological and genetic analysis of chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The aim of this paper was genetic and pomological characterization of total autochthonous gene pool of sweet chestnut in Bosnia and Herzegovina, conserved in situ and selection of the most valuable of genotypes. The sample was consisted of 130 trees from three locations: 50 from northwestern Bosnia, 50 from northern Herzegovina and 30 from eastern Bosnia. All pomological characteristics showed a very high variability. Fruit weight ranged from 2.4 to 12.7 g. The average fruit weight was 6.26 g, which points to the necessity of introducing breeding programs. Microsatellite markers (13 loci) were used for genetic analysis. The average number of alleles for the total sample and all loci was 5.3077, the number of genotypes 9.5385, while the value of the informative test on the contents of polymorphism content was 0.4911. The results of the analysis of heterogeneity showed a significant discrepancy between the observed and expected heterozygosity. The trees with high pomological values have been selected for the further selection.