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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1496769
This article is part of the Research Topic Plant Ecophysiology: Responses to Climate Changes and Stress Conditions View all 23 articles
Morphology and Pomological Characterization of Bael [Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa] Genotypes for Climate Change Mitigation under North-Western Himalayas
Provisionally accepted
Prabhdeep Singh 1*
Akash Sharma 1
Sushil Kumar Gupta 2
Romesh Kumar Salgotra 3
Vishal Gupta 4 Manish Sharma 5- 1 Division of Fruit Science, Faculty of Horticulture & Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu- 180009, Jammu and Kashmir, Union Territory of India, Jammu, India
- 2 Division of Agroforestry, Faculty of Horticulture & Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu- 180009, Jammu and Kashmir, Union Territory of India, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India
- 3 Institute of Biotechnology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu- 180009, Jammu and Kashmir, Union Territory of India, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India
- 4 Division of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu- 180009, Jammu and Kashmir, Union Territory of India, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India
- 5 Division of Statistics and Computer Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu- 180009, Jammu and Kashmir, Union Territory of India, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India
This study investigated the genetic diversity of eighty wild bael genotypes (Aegle marmelos) compared to commercial cultivars NB-5 and NB-9, focusing on sixteen pomological traits.With the rising temperature impacting perennial fruit crop production and the urgent need for heat and drought-resistant varieties, bael emerges as a viable option for rainfed areas due to its xerophytic characteristics and due to its ability to withstand high temperatures. Among the collected, wild bael genotypes germplasm, the JMU-Bael (Sel-27) demonstrated superior traits, including maximum fruit length (12.05 cm), width (11.72 cm), weight (917.65 g), pulp weight (746.81 g), and pulp percentage (81.38%). Correlation matrices revealed significant associations among pomological traits, particularly positive correlations with fruit weight.Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated substantial genetic diversity, with the first two components explaining 63.98% of the cumulative variation. Cluster analysis grouped genotypes into two main clusters, providing insights into their diversity and potential breeding applications. This comprehensive analysis offers valuable insights into the genetic variability and adaptability of bael genotypes under changing climatic conditions in the plains of North Western Himalayan regions.
Keywords: Bael, genetic diversity, Pomological traits, climate adaptation, Principal Component Analysis, Cluster analysis
Received: 15 Sep 2024; Accepted: 14 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Singh, Sharma, Gupta, Salgotra, Gupta and Sharma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Prabhdeep Singh, Division of Fruit Science, Faculty of Horticulture & Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu- 180009, Jammu and Kashmir, Union Territory of India, Jammu, India
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