Morphology and pomology characteristics of four cultivars of Japanese plum and prune (Prunus spp.)

Plum and prune are important temperate fruits, which have wide varieties of sizes and colors prized both for its exquisite fresh fruit flavor and in the fruitprocessing industry. Their fruits are rich source of minerals, vitamins, sugars and organic acids in addition to antioxidants. This research was conducted to evaluate the morphological and pomological characteristics of four cultivars of Japanese plum (P. salicina Lindl.) and prune (P. cerasifera Ehrh.) during 2020 in Karaj. According to the UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) description, trees of Shablon had a semi-upright growth habit and Shiro, Mariana Inra and Seif-e-Dirras cultivars had an upright growth habit. The fruit of Shablon was also oblate and the other three cultivars were circular. The over color of fruit skin varied from yellow-orange (Shiro) to red (Seif-e-Dirras) and the color of fruit flesh was yellow (Shiro and Shablon) or orange (Mariana Inra and Seif-e-Dirras). Pomological results showed that Shiro and Mariana Inra had the highest and lowest yield (39.8 and 18.6 kg/tree) and number of fruits (1617.9 and 598.4 fruits/tree), respectively. Shablon and Mariana Inra had the highest fruit weight (32.2 and 31.0 g, respectively) and Mariana Inra had the longest fruit length (37.1 mm), while the lowest values of these traits were related to Seife- Dirras. The highest and lowest total soluble solids (TSS) were also obtained with Seif-e-Dirras (17.9) and Shiro (14.1). Tree yield had a positive correlation with the number of fruits/tree and total acidity (TA) and a significant negative correlation with total soluble solids and taste index (TSS/TA). Fruit weight and length also showed a positive correlation with leaf dimensions and a significant negative correlation with the number of fruits/tree and total soluble solids. In general, each of the cultivars are different from each other in terms of some characteristics and can be used for fresh consumption (Mariana Inra), juicing (Shiro) or drying (Seif-e- Dirras).