Ampelographic Characteristics and Molecular Investigation of Azerbaijani Local Grape Varieties by Microsatellites

The article aims at introducing of some local grapevine varieties cultivated in different areas of Azerbaijan. The cultivars are grown in the ampelographic collection of the Azerbaijani Scientific Research Institute of Viticulture and Wine-making. The description of their ampelographic specifications was based on the OIV list. Comparing cultivars, it has been found that, although there are similarities in various descriptor traits, most of the characteristics are distinctive of specific cultivars. A considerable polymorphism was found concerning the botanical features of leaves, clusters, berries, as well as considering some biological and technological characteristics. In more details, these genotypes differ each other by the morphological features of leaves; the shape, size and structure of clusters; the shape, color and flavor of berries; the productivity indices; the resistance to pests and diseases; the duration of their vegetative period; the sugar and acid contents; and the number of seeds in the berry. This study was carried out on nine grape cultivars grown in region Garabagh, Nakhchyvan and Absheron in 2008- 2012. Analyses of the ampelographic features of the studied grape varieties showed that the genotypes considerably differ by their main morphological, biological and technological characteristics.42 Azerbaijani grape varieties (including above mentioned) have been investigated comparatively with Caucasian countries` and European grape varieties. Based on the descriptive statistics Azerbaijani samples appeared having the highest genetic diversity. The first two coordinates of the PCoA differentiated the samples into two main clusters, despite the presence of overlapping zones: i) the group clusterizing the most part of cultivars from Azerbaijan; ii) the other Caucasian and European varieties. STRUCTURE analysis revealed the optimal K value equal to 3, highlighting 3 groups: i) Central European group; ii) an admixed group, containing Armenian, Georgian and Moldavian samples; iii) the group of Azerbaijani cultivars (94%) . en investigated comparatively with Caucasian countries` and European grape varieties.