Morphological, chemical, and molecular characterization of a new late-leafing and high fruit quality hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) genotype

Abstract

Hazelnuts are widely employed in various dietary practices, making them one of the most frequently utilized nuts. This study morphologically, chemically, and molecularly characterized a new hazelnut genotype throughout the 2018 to 2020 growing seasons. The variety burst leaf buds between 10th and 15th April and reached harvest maturity between 5th and 15th September. The genotype bore a mean of 2.33 nuts per cluster, with the majority of clusters consisting of double and triple nuts. The means of the nut weight was 2.38 g, the kernel weight was 1.35 g, the kernel ratio was 56.81%, the shell thickness was 0.96 mm, the nut size was 18.32 mm, the kernel size was 14.77 mm, the good kernel ratio was 91.7%, the protein content was 13.5%, the oil content was 55.8%, the oleic acid ratio was 81.43%, and the linoleic acid ratio was 10.68%. The genetic similarity rate between the new hazelnut genotype and the standard Çakıldak, Palaz, Tombul cultivars, as well as randomly selected Çakıldak hazelnut clones from the region, ranged from 0.58 to 0.98. Additionally, the polymorphism rate varied from 45.5 to 100%. On average, the investigated hazelnut genotype exhibited a genetic distinctiveness of 38% compared to randomly selected Çakıldak clones from the same region, and 47% compared to standard hazelnut cultivars. Consequently, this genotype could serve as valuable genetic material for hazelnut breeding programs through genetic distinctiveness and promising nut quality, and could potentially be registered as a new cultivar.