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Phenotypic and molecular diversity of litchi cultivars in Mauritius

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2010

Madhvee Madhou ,
Theeshan Bahorun  and
José Ignacio Hormaza
Madhvee Madhou
Affiliation:
 Agric. Res. Ext. Unit, St Jean Road, Quatre Bornes, Mauritius
Theeshan Bahorun
Affiliation:
 Dep. Biosci., Univ. Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius
José Ignacio Hormaza*
Affiliation:
Inst. Hortofrutic. Subtrop. Mediterr. “La Mayora”, Univ. Málaga-Consejo Super. Investig. Cient. (IHSM-UMA-CSIC), Estac. Exp. “La Mayora”, 29760 Algarrobo-Costa Málaga, Spain
*
* Correspondence and reprints
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Abstract

Introduction. Litchi has gained considerable economic importance in Mauritius as it is highly prized on the local and export markets for its size, colour and flavour, although no characterisation work has been performed so far. Materials and methods. In order to optimise litchi germplasm management in Mauritius, we evaluated 34 litchi accessions from three different agroclimatic regions. Phenotypic and morphological characters, and microsatellite markers were studied. Results and discussion. Phenological observations conducted over four consecutive fruiting cycles (2003/2004 to 2006/2007) showed that accessions could be grouped into early- and late-flowering cultivars, which initiated floral panicles from June to July and July to August, respectively. The harvesting season of litchi lasted from mid-November to mid-January with early-maturing cultivars being ready for harvest in the first month of the season. Phenological characters and fruit characterisation showed that the newly-introduced cultivar ‘Yook Ho Pow’ had a high commercial potential. Molecular studies using twelve pairs of SSR primers showed that, despite phenotypic variations among ‘Tai So’ genotypes in different locations (such as percentage of chicken-tongued seeds and leaflet size), the SSR profiles of leaf samples from all the studied ‘Tai So’ accessions were identical, suggesting that phenotypic differences could probably be attributed to environmental conditions rather than to genetic variations. Molecular characterisation revealed different cases of synonymies and homonymies in the genotypes studied.

Keywords

MauritiusSapindaceaeLitchi chinensisagronomic charactersmicrosatellitesphenologySSRMauritiusSapindaceaeLitchi chinensiscaractère agronomiquemicrosatellitephénologieRSSMauritiusSapindaceaeLitchi chinensiscaracterísticas agronómicasmicrosatélitesfenologíaRSS
Type
Original article
Information
Fruits , Volume 65 , Issue 3 , May 2010 , pp. 141 - 152
Copyright
© Cirad/EDP Sciences 2010

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