The rapid identification of the hybrids between sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) and sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) is not easy. In order to resolve this problem, 18 Spanish sweet, sour and duke cherry cultivars were surveyed and characterized using 43 agromorphological descriptors evaluated in flowers, leaves, dormant 1-yr-old shoots, fruits, and trees during 2005 and 2006. Based on quantitative parameters, ANOVA and stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA) were carried out. For qualitative descriptors, statistical comparisons were done by means of the chi-square (χ2) test. As result of the study, two quantitative (titratable acidity and number of lenticels) and six qualitative descriptors (shape of the central and lateral lobes in the internal bracts... |