Morphological and genetic characteristics allow the identification of a collection of garlic cultivars in the North-Central region of Mexico

Abstract

"The objective of this study was to compare the yield and genetic relationships between two Perla garlic selections, obtained by individual selection of cloves, and commercial varieties and cultivars adapted to diverse regions of Mexico (which did not have a selection process). Varieties with fewer cloves showed higher yields. Coreano and California produced 20 ton/ha (fresh weight) and Perla selections between 17-1.9 ton/ha (fresh weight). Six primers of the series OPB were tested for frenetic characterization and OPB-17 was selected. With the. amplified DIVA fragments, a binary matrix was generated; afterwards, a dissimilarity matrix and dendrogram were developed. High genetic diversity was found among all varieties, which were separated into two groups through differential analysis. Varieties of smaller yield were included in one group. The other group was constituted by the best production varieties with fewer cloves per plant (Perla, California, Coreano and Chino). Dissimilarity was found among Perla varieties. The selection method used to obtain plants with better yield characteristics can be applied to the genetic improvements of garlic."