Genetic variability and association of component characters for fruit weight in apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) cultivars of Kargil (Ladakh)

摘要

Apricot ranks first among fruit crops being grown under cold arid climatic conditions of Kargil. It is a prime source of income for the poor tribal farmers. Dried apricots and kernels which are sweet like almonds are also used as almond substitute and oil extracted from kernels is used as hair oil (Vaughan, 8). To evolve improved cultivars with higher and stable yield, information on association of quantitative characters especially for fruit yield and its attributes is of immense value in selection. Scanty information on these aspects is available for apricot (Choudhary and Singh, 3). Therefore, present study was undertaken to assess variability, relative importance of different characters and interrelationship among different quantitative characters in apricot cultivars grown in Kargil area.