Description:
<jats:p>Two species of the genus Celtis L. are represented in the city of Sombor, of
which the most numerous is Celtis occidentalis L., prevalent in parks and
alleys, which became a symbol of the city, with its priceless social,
economic and environmental value. Their present situation could be described
as alarming. The paper presents the results of the analysis of morphological
characteristics of leaves and fruits of common hackberry, investigated at the
level of 15 test trees, in order to assess the genetic variability of the
available gene pool in the tree alleys at Sombor area. Following parameters
were analyzed: total leaf length, lamina width, petiole length, and lamina
width at the left and right side from midrib, as well as drupe diameter and
weight of 1000 fruits. The descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of
variance, LSD test and cluster analysis were done. The largest leaves were
recorded at trees 1, 5 and 11, and smallest at the trees 7, 9 and 13, wherein
genotype 1 was distanced from the other test trees, on multiple
characteristics. The highest average of drupes diameter were recorded at
trees number 4, 12, and 3. The obtained results indicate a satisfactory
degree of variability of the analyzed characteristics at the level of test
trees, which provides a good basis for exploring and proper use of the
genetic potential of this species, as well as for conservation of the
available gene pool.</jats:p>