CHARACTERIZATION OF A NEW LOQUAT CULTIVAR 'NINGHAIBAI'

A new cultivar of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) ‘Ninghaibai’ was developed by the systematic selection method. It is characterized by large fruit and white flesh colour. Fruit weight averages 52.5 g and reaches up to 86.0 g. Total soluble solid content is 14.0% and the highest reaches 19.2%. The main morphological traits and DNA fingerprints based on simple sequence repeat (SSR) and amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) markers were examined, and the results showed that ‘Ninghaibai’ has a significant genetic difference from eleven other loquat cultivars tested.