Abstract:
【Objective】 To provide resources and theoretical references for tomato genetic improvement by conducting phenotypic characterization and comprehensive evaluation of tomato germplasm resources collected during the "Third National Census and Collection of Crop Germplasm Resources in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region" and the "Systematic Investigation and Rescue Collection of Crop Germplasm Resources in Xinjiang."
【Methods】 Phenotypic traits across the entire growth period of 137 tomato germplasm accessions were measured. Genetic diversity analysis, variation analysis, correlation analysis, and principal component comprehensive evaluation were employed to assess the diversity of tomato resources collected in Xinjiang’s Third National Census (hereafter "Third Census") and to screen elite germplasm with superior quality.
【Results】 Taxonomic classification revealed that over 90% of the collected tomato resources were indeterminate-growth fresh-market large-fruited tomatoes, while 5% were determinate-growth processing tomatoes. Fruit traits and flavor quality traits exhibited the highest genetic diversity, with fruit shape showing the highest genetic diversity index (1.432) and locule number displaying the largest coefficient of variation (43%). Cluster analysis based on comprehensive flavor quality scores classified the germplasm into seven major groups. Groups I and III comprised high-quality cherry tomato resources, while Group II included elite large-fruited tomato resources. These groups represented valuable germplasm and molecular breeding materials for high-quality tomato breeding.
【Conclusion】 This study has elucidated the phenotypic diversity of tomato germplasm resources collected during the Third National Crop Germplasm Census of Xinjiang. We have identified cherry tomato germplasm and large-fruited tomato germplasm with superior flavor quality.