Morphological-based diversity analysis of durian from Kundur Island, Indonesia

Abstract

Kundur area in Kepulauan Riau, Indonesia is very well known for having many superior durian cultivars. It is foretold that most of durian plants on the island are originally grown from seeds derived from Malaysian durian. Superiorities of Kundur durian are differently unique in taste, texture and arylus colour. This study aimed to analyse the diversity of superior durian in Kundur using morphological properties and characteristics. Vegetative and generative phases of 30 durian cultivars were observed in five vegetative and seven generative properties. Characteristics that can be observed in each trait were transformed to scores then analysed using the NTSYS-pc 2.02 program to determine the level of similarity/diversity of Kundur durian cultivars. Results showed that similarity of Kundur durian cultivars ranged from 37-78% or had a diversity of 22-63%. There were no cultivars that showed 100% similarity. Based on the results of Pearson's correlation analysis, 30 of the 48 characteristics observed were positively correlated. Based on fruit characteristics that consumers like, 33.3% Kundur durian is preferred because it has an arylus thickness >10 mm, 80% has a bittersweet taste, 26.7% arylus is dark yellow, and 77% arylus texture is soft and dry.