Morphological And Biochemical Characteristics Of Selected Local Chestnut Genotypes

Turkey is one of the biggest chestnut producers in the world. Most of the chestnut trees found in forests in Turkey and the majority of them are coming from seeds showing huge phenotypic diversity. The study was conducted on naturally growing chestnut trees found in forests belongs to Artvin province located in the northeastern part of Turkey. A total of 22 promising chestnut genotypes previously selected among chestnut populations (Castanea sativa) in 2016 and morphological and biochemical data were collected during 2016 and 2017 harvest season. Morphological parameters were tree growth habit, nut weight, nut size, kernel ratio, and kernel color, respectively. Biochemical characteristics include moisture, crude protein, crude fat, dietary fiber, total carbohydrates, total polyphenols and antioxidant activity of kernels. Results clearly revealed that seed-propagated 22 chestnut genotypes have distinct properties. Average nut weight and kernel ratio varied from 4.38 to 9.19 g; 75.16 to 86.41%. The majority of genotypes were semi-upright growing habit. Total crude fat, crude protein and dietary fiber ranged from 0.87 to 2.61%; 4.80 to 7.65% and 2.06 to 3.61%, respectively. Results indicated that the Artvin region has valuable chestnut genetic resources.