BIODIVERSITY IN MORPHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WILD RASPBERRY (Rubus idaeus L.) GERMPLASM COLLECTED FROM TEMPERATE REGION OF AZAD JAMMU & KASHMIR (PAKISTAN)

Wild raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) is abundantly grown and widely distributed in temperate regions of lower Himalayan range which represents rich biological diversity for raspberry. Thirty accessions were explored from three different locations of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan), several traits were visualized at sampling locations and some characteristics were evaluated and quantified after harvest of leaf and fruit samples. The accessions differed greatly in growth habit, blooming time, intensity of flowering, fruit setting, ripening time, productivity, fruit shape and color. Concerning quantitative characteristics, significant differences were found in plant height, leaf length and width, number of braches per plant, duration of flowering, fruit setting percentage, days to maturity, fruit length, width and weight among the samples collected from different locations. Ripe fruits were evaluated for their chemical composition i.e. moisture, carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, ash, TSS, acidity, pH and mineral (K, Ca, Na, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Pb, and Cr) contents. The location also had significant effect on chemical composition of ripe fruits.