Mulberries are classified under berry fruits and they have quite high adaptation capacity to different climate and soil conditions. Therefore, they are quite common in various parts of the world. Previous studies on mulberries have mostly focused on sericulture and nutritional composition of leaves. However, there is also an increasing interest in phenolic compounds of mulberries. Although there are several cultivar registrations in other fruit species, the works for cultivar registration are quite limited in mulberries. Besides, there are UPOV criteria to be used in identification of cultivar characteristics of various fruit species, but such criteria are not available for mulberries. Determination of characteristics to be used in identification of mulberry genotypes is a significant issue for breeding programs, cultivar registrations and cultural practices. Anatolia is the origin-center and natural spread of several fruit species. Mulberry culture has a history of more than 400 years in Anatolia. Different mulberry genotypes collected from different regions of Turkey are preserved in mulberry genetic sources plot of Malatya Apricot Research Institute. The present study was conducted in this plot in 2015 and 2016 to determine cultivar characteristics to be used in identification of mulberry genotypes. Within the scope of the study, tree, shoot, leaf, flower and fruit characteristics of 75 different mulberry genotypes were determined through observations and measurements. Resultant data were used to generate a document on “Mulberry Cultivar Characteristics”. The resultant form included 36 characteristics to be used identification of mulberry genotypes.
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