Morphology and pomological characterization of bael [ Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa] genotypes for climate change mitigation under north-western Himalayas

Prabhdeep Singh; Akash Sharma; Sushil Kumar Gupta; Romesh Kumar Salgotra; Vishal Gupta; Manish Sharma

doi:10.3389/fpls.2025.1496769

Morphology and pomological characterization of bael [ Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa] genotypes for climate change mitigation under north-western Himalayas

Front Plant Sci. 2025 Mar 18:16:1496769. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1496769. eCollection 2025.

Authors

Prabhdeep Singh¹, Akash Sharma¹, Sushil Kumar Gupta², Romesh Kumar Salgotra³, Vishal Gupta⁴, Manish Sharma⁵

Affiliations

¹ Division of Fruit Science, Faculty of Horticulture and Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu, India.
² Division of Agroforestry, Faculty of Horticulture and Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu, India.
³ Institute of Biotechnology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu, India.
⁴ Division of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu, India.
⁵ Division of Statistics and Computer Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu, India.

Abstract

This study investigated the genetic diversity of 80 wild bael genotypes (Aegle marmelos) compared to commercial cultivars NB-5 and NB-9, focusing on 16 pomological traits. With the rising temperature impacting perennial fruit crop production and the urgent need for heat- and drought-resistant varieties, bael emerges as a viable option for rainfed areas due to its xerophytic characteristics and ability to withstand high temperatures. Among the collected, wild bael genotype germplasm, JMU-Bael (Sel-27) demonstrated superior traits, including maximum fruit length (12.05 cm), width (11.72 cm), weight (917.65 g), pulp weight (746.81 g), and pulp percentage (81.38%). Correlation matrices revealed significant associations among pomological traits, particularly positive correlations with fruit weight. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated substantial genetic diversity, with the first two components explaining 63.98% of the cumulative variation. Cluster analysis grouped genotypes into two main clusters, providing insights into their diversity and potential breeding applications. This comprehensive analysis offers valuable insights into the genetic variability and adaptability of bael genotypes under changing climatic conditions in the plains of north-western Himalayan regions.

Keywords: bael; climate adaptation; cluster analysis; genetic diversity; pomological traits; principal component analysis.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by project number (RSP2025R118), King Saud University Project of China (Grant No. T2019136).