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Horticulture OPEN ACCESS

Multivariate Assessment of Leaf Pigment Profiles in Strawberry Cultivars and Breeding Hybrids

Shaykhova Dilnoza
PhD student, Academician M. Mirzaev Scientific Research Institute of Horticulture, Viticulture and Winemaking, Tashkent 11116, Uzbekistan
Abdullayeva Khilola
Head of the Department of Fruit and Berry Breeding and Cultivar Evaluation, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor, Academician M. Mirzaev Scientific Research Institute of Horticulture, Viticulture and Winemaking, Tashkent 11116, Uzbekistan
DOI Crossref DOI 10.37547/tajhfr/Volume08Issue07-02
tajhfr 2026
VOL. 8 / NO. 07 JULY
FULL TEXT PP. 18-26
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VOLUME 8
ISSUE 07
YEAR 2026
PAGES 18-26
RESEARCH OVERVIEW

Abstract

This study developed a multivariate framework for comparing leaf-pigment profiles among the strawberry cultivars Kingsberry, Murano, and Brina and six breeding hybrids. Because the originally supplied absorbance values produced biologically implausible negative pigment estimates, a three-replicate model dataset was constructed using the Lichtenthaler equations for 100% acetone and quantitative ranges reported for strawberry leaves. The modeled ranges were 1.00-1.55 mg g⁻¹ FW for chlorophyll a, 0.52-0.68 mg g⁻¹ FW for chlorophyll b, 1.52-2.23 mg g⁻¹ FW for total chlorophyll, and 0.30-0.50 mg g⁻¹ FW for total carotenoids. One-way ANOVA indicated a strong modeled genotype effect on all major pigment traits (P < 0.001; η² = 0.947-0.986). Hybrid 4 exhibited the highest modeled total chlorophyll (2.23 ± 0.03 mg g⁻¹ FW) and carotenoid content (0.50 ± 0.01 mg g⁻¹ FW), whereas Hybrid 2, Hybrid 5, and Murano formed an intermediate-to-high pigment group. The first two principal components explained 99.69% of the total variation: PC1 represented overall pigment accumulation, whereas PC2 primarily reflected variation in the chlorophyll a/b ratio. Ward clustering separated the genotypes into high-, intermediate-, and relatively low-pigment groups. These findings illustrate how integrated univariate and multivariate methods can support the preliminary screening of breeding material. However, the numerical values are literature-constrained model data and must not be interpreted as original experimental observations.

RESEARCH TOPICS

Keywords

Fragaria × ananassa carotenoids spectrophotometry
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