Genetic Linkage Mapping and Quantitative Trait Analysis of Important Traits in Almond

Abstract

The almond, ['Prunus dulcis' (Mill) D.A. Webb syn. 'P. amygdalus' Batsch] is an important nut crop belonging to the family Rosaceae. Almond consumption has shown steady growth during the last decades due to the increased awareness of its excellent flavour, nutritional value and health benefits. The Australian climate provides great potential for growing almonds and the Australian almond breeding program was initiated in 1997 to develop cultivars better suited to growing conditions and to meet market demands. The construction of a genetic linkage map for one of the breeding populations (Nonpareil x Lauranne) was a part of this breeding program. This population comprised 181 individuals, of which 93 were used for map construction and quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis in this study. Important traits that were investigated included flowering time, flower structures in relation to fruit set and autogamy and shell and kernel traits.