DNA CHARACTERIZATION OF CORYLUS SEEDLINGS AND THEIR EVALUATION AS ROOTSTOCKS FOR HAZELNUT

A research is in progress with the aim to select and to characterize non-suckering rootstocks for hazelnut, examining seedlings and selections of Corylus colurna, C. chinensis, C. heterophylla, C. sieboldiana, C. Jacquemonti. This material has been evaluated with regard to the main morphological and agronomical traits. From the observations done so far, some seedlings of C. colurna have resulted of interest as rootstocks. As they did not show the typical characteristics of the Turkish hazelnut, and were obtained by open pollination, they were supposed to be interspecific hybrids. To verify this hypothesis a genetic analysis using RAPD markers was performed, comparing the hybrids seedlings with true-to-type C. colurna plants and C. avellana cultivars. The data obtained supported the hypothesis of their hybrid nature but excluded the parentage with C. avellana.