Abstract
BACKGROUND: Several species of the genus Ziziphus are used worldwide for their medicinal and therapeutic properties. The present study aimed to investigate the phenotypic variation of five species of the Ziziphus genus, including Z. jujuba Mill. (25 accessions), Z. mauritiana Lam. (25 accessions), Z. spina-christi L. (25 accessions), Z. nummularia L. (10 accessions), and Z. xylopyrus Willd. (10 accessions) from Markazi, Sistan-va-Baluchestan, and Khuzestan provinces, Iran. RESULTS: The investigated accessions have significant differences in terms of all the measured as revealed using analysis of variance (ANOVA, P < 0.01). The range of fruit weight was 0.43-1.29 g in Z. jujuba, 17.85-29.87 g in Z. mauritiana, 0.94-3.44 g in Z. spina-christi, 0.93-2.02 g in Z. nummularia, and 0.91-3.02 g in Z. xylopyrus. All the measured traits showed significant and positive correlations with each other. Multiple regression analysis (MRA) results showed that fruit length, stone width, stone weight, stone length, and fruit width have significant effects on fruit weight, and thus their fluctuations have a significant effect on increasing or decreasing fruit weight. The accessions were grouped into two main clusters using hierarchical cluster analysis. The first cluster (I) included all the accessions of Z. mauritiana, while the second cluster (II) contained the accessions of the rest species forming two sub-clusters. CONCLUSION: Based on the commercial characters, accessions no. 12, 13, 17, 23, and 24 in Z. jujuba, accessions no. 3, 9, 17, 18, 20, 22, and 23 in Z. mauritiana, accessions no. 5, 6, 8, 13, 19, 22, and 24 in Z. spina-christi, accessions no. 3, 7, and 9 in Z. nummularia, and accessions no. 2, 4, 7, and 10 in Z. oxyphylla showed the highest fruit weight and thus can be suggested as superior for cultivation or use in breeding programs due to having larger fruits.