Qualitative pomological traits of the sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) in the area of Bosanska Krajina

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) stands are spread over an approximately 7,000-ha belt, ranging from 150 to 700 m above sea level. The largest population of sweet chestnuts in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be found in the northwest of the country in the Bosanska Krajina area. This study aimed to determine the quality of the 16 subpopulations selected from a single large sweet chestnut population in Bosanska Krajina based on the morphological traits of fruits to determine the future selection and breeding of this promising species. We studied qualitative traits of fruits from 3 locations and 16 subpopulations of a sweet chestnut population in Bosanska Krajina. The observed traits were fruit shape, fruit embryony, and penetration of seed coat into embryo. The results showed that the most common shape of fruit in all subpopulations (except B9) was cylindrical, with a total of 41% of all tested fruits sharing that shape. Out of all subpopulations, 99.4% of the tested fruits were monoembryonic. The penetration of seed coat into embryo was absent in 74.4% of the tested fruits. This type of research of variability within a population can act as a starting point for further research on the quality of sweet chestnut fruits in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results of such studies can serve as a good basis for selecting high-quality stands, breeding, and preserving genetic diversity. © 2022 by the authors.