Vegetable Crops Research Unit : Simon: Pubs: 93euph0121

Euphytica 68: 121-130, 1993.

Characterization and classification of isozyme and morphological variation in a diverse collection of garlic clones

M.R. Pooler¹ & P.W. Simon
Vegetable Crops Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA;¹ present address: Appalachian Fruit Research Station, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kearneysville, WV 25430, USA

Received 1 September 1992; accepted 7 May 1993

Key words: Allium longicuspis, Allium sativum, phylogeny

Summary

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) has a long history of obligate vegetative propagation. In this study, isozyme and morphological characters were analyzed for 110 diverse clones of garlic and the proposed progenitor species, A. longicuspis. The clones displayed 17 different electrophoretic phenotypes, which were associated with morphological traits. An isozyme-based phenetic tree was contructed to explain the possible relationships of various garlic clones and A. longicuspis. The lack of unique isozyme and morphological characters of A. longicuspis suggests an artificial species separation.