Mineral composition of 'Chandler' × 'Kaplan-86' F₁ walnut population

As a member of nut, walnut is one of the most valuable nut for human health and nutrition. Walnut kernels take part in the functional food group because of its easily digestible protein content, polyunsaturated fatty acids, rich in melatonin and an antioxidant. In addition, kernels are rich in mineral substances such as Ca, P, Mg, Fe, Cu, K, Mn. Today, demand for walnut production and consumption is increasing day by day due to the scientific understanding of the importance of nutrition for human health and nutrition. Nutritional contents of walnuts can vary by cultivar, genotype, ecology, technical and cultural practices, climate and soil conditions. In this study, it was aimed to characterize nutrient element contents of 109 F₁ hybrids walnut genotype sand their parents ('Chandler' × 'Kaplan- 86'). Macro-element composition of kernels ranged 390-740 mg 100 g^‑1 for K, 70-130 mg 100 g^‑1 for Mg, 160-650 mg 100 g^‑1 for P and 90-200 mg 100 g^‑1 for Ca. Micro-element values for Cu, Mn, Fe and Zn ranged from 1.2 to 2.4 mg 100 g^‑1, 3.0-10.5 mg 100 g^‑1, 2.4-4.7 mg 100 g^‑1, 2.0-4.70 mg 100 g^‑1, respectively. Among the detected elements the highest values were obtained from K among the macro-elements and Mn as micro-element. As a result of this study, the walnut progenies of 'Chandler' × 'Kaplan-86' F₁ population varied and important sources of nutritive elements were detected in higher amounts than the progenies.