White & Alspach--Variation in fruit shape in pear

New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts

Variation in fruit shape in three pear hybrid progenies

A. G. WHITE

The Horticulture and Food Research
Institute of New Zealand
Private Bag 1401
Havelock North, New Zealand

P. A. ALSPACH

The Horticulture and Food Research
Institute of New Zealand
P. O. Box 220
Motueka, New Zealand

Abstract Digitised video images of fruits from three seedling families of pear were taken and eight height and width measurements calculated. Ratios between height and maximum width, height of maximum width and height, widths at 10% and 90% heights, and widths at 25% and 75% heights were calculated from the data and used as descriptions of fruit shape. The progenies segregated for each ratio about a continuous uni-modal distribution, which was Normal or nearly so. This would be expected if the characters of height and width are under polygenic control and inherited additively. The progenies showed a tendency away from pyriform towards round shape.

Keywords pear; breeding; fruit shape; digital imaging

New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 1996, Vol. 24: 409-413

0114-0671/96/2404-0409 $2.50/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 1996

Short communication

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (136K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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