Statistical comparative study of free amino acid HPLC data from a selected almond set

This paper compares the free amino acid profiles of five agriculturally important almond cultivars grown in four different geographical areas and conditions, discussing the relative influence of locality and cultivar in this chemical fraction. Some amino acids do indeed seem to be associated with the different areas and others with the cultivars. Nevertheless, multivariate statistical techniques reveal the ability of amino acids to associate cultivars, independently of locality, in two groups. The first group includes the Spanish cultivars Marcona and Desmayo-Largueta, and the second one brings together Cristomorto, Ferragnes and Ferraduel cultivars, which are genetically related. ©