Determination of Phenological and Pomological Properties and Fatty Acid Contents of Some Wild Almond Genotypes (Prunus fenzliana Fritsch) Grown on The Slopes of Mount Ararat

The species Prunus fenzliana is acknowledged to be the possible ancestor of cultivated almond (Prunus amygdalus L.) and other wild almond species. The objective of this study was to determine phenological and pomological properties and fatty acid composition of the almond species Prunus fenzliana Fritsch, which grows naturally on the slopes of Mount Ararat. The study was conducted in 2016 and 2017. The fruit weight with shell, kernel weight, fruit thickness with shell: kernel ratios of the selected almond genotypes were 0.47–0.89 g, 0.13–0.22 g, 0.87-1.31 mm, and 22.38-37.36%, respectively. Double kernelled fruits were encountered in two genotypes [(PFG-10 (6.67%) and PFG-15 (7.14%)]. In 2016, the first flowering, full flowering, and harvesting time of the genotypes ranged from 20-25 March, 24-31 March and 17-23 August, respectively. In 2017, the first flowering, full bloom, and harvest time were observed between 08-12 April, 13-17 April and 4-9 September, respectively. The oleic acid concentration was much higher than in previous studies. In this context, the oleic, linoleic, palmitic, stearic and myristic acid concentrations were 69.2-77.9, 15.2-18.5, 4.6-5.3, 1.2-1.6 and 0.7-1.7%, respectively. The results revealed that genotypes under the Prunus fenzliana species could be used as a genetic resource in rootstock breeding programs and could be utilized in chemical and pharmaceutical industry due to its rich fat content.