Evaluation of Various Rosa Damascena Mill. Genotypes Grown under Rainfed Semi-arid Condition

Abstract

ABSTRACT Rosa damascena Mill L. also known as “Damask Rose” and “Gole Mohammadi” is a well-recognized high value ornamental and medicinal plant, which can be used in food, perfume and medicine industries. This study aimed to analyze the genetic diversity of 10 Rosa damascena genotypes by evaluating their morphological traits, flower yield and oil content to find the best genotype with high productivity under rainfed condition in Lorestan province, Iran. This study was conducted in a completely randomized design trial with three replications. The data analyses, using Pearson’s correlation coefficients, showed that flower dry yield per hectare was significantly and positively correlated with, flower dry weight per plant, flowering period, plant height, number of flowers per plant, fresh and dry weight of petals, average weight of each flower, and number of flowers per day. Principal component (PC) analysis revealed that the first three PCs, respectively, called as flower yield, receptacle, and flower size components accounted for 88.33% of the total variation. The genotypes were grouped into four clusters in which the highest genetic distance was observed between Kermanshah and Fars1 genotypes. Fars1 and Yazd1 genotypes had the highest productivity in terms of, respectively, flower yield and oil content and showed the high potential for cultivation under rainfed condition in Lorestan province.