VARIATION IN LEAF PHOTOSYNTHETIC TRAITS OF WILD CHERRY (Prunus avium L.) FAMILIES IN A NURSERY TRIAL

The paper presents the results of investigation of variability of net photosynthesis (A), transpiration (E), stomatal conductance (gs) and water use efficiency (WUE) in one year old seedlings of wild cherry (Prunus avium L.), assessed in a nursery trial. Study involved 5 families of half-sib progenies which originate from the Northern part of Serbia (Vojvodina Province). The results showed significant differences among families in regards of stomatal conductance (0.163-0.256 mol m(-2) s(-1)), transpiration (3.27-5.28 mmol m(-2) s(-1)) and water use efficiency (1.98-3.80 Firnol mmol(-1)) (p <= 3.001), while differences regarding net photosynthesis (10.49-12.44 mu mol m-2 s(-1)) were not statistically significant (p <= 0.124). Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) was performed in order to estimate multivariate relations among analyzed leaf photosyntetical traits. Families were separated by the first canonical axis (CD1), which described 82% of variability. Presence of differences in regards of E, gs and WUE indicate the possibility of choosing the best families for a breeding program.