Morphological characterization of leaves and fruit of jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) germplasm in Faisalabad, Pakistan

The genus Ziziphus (Jujube) with more than 100 species of deciduous or evergreen trees and shrubs distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world offers sufficient plants genetic resources suitable for arid and semi arid climates to enhance food security. Some of the species, like Z. mauritiana occur in nearly every continent and is thought to possess great genetic diversity. The traditional selection and cultivation of Ziziphus varieties in China and India resulted in better known and more widely researched varieties than those in other regions. Several local and exotic ber varieties are cultivated for fruit production in Pakistan with the least research work regarding different aspects including morphological characterization of the available germplasm resources. In this study, existing gene pool was characterized for physical and morphological diversity to develop a reliable identification key which would lead to characterization, selection and approval of better germplasm for further cultivation. Eleven commercial varieties (Desi, Selection-13, Gola, Selection 11, Karnal Local, Gourh, Karela, Umran-9, Mirpuri, Khati Mithi, and Badam) and two unknown strains (Anonymous-1 and Anonymous-2) of ber were studied for qualitative and quantitative characters. The quantitative studies included leaf area, petiole length and fruit diameter, weight and volume while, qualitative studies comprised of leaf shape, apex, base, margins and characteristics of leaf dorsal and ventral surface. Fruits from the selected strains were also subjected to morphological studies including shape, type of stem-end and cavity, form of styler-end and skin appearance. Results showed great physico-morphological diversity suggesting division of all the 13 cultivars into 4 sections.