Phenotypic Variation Analysis of Seeds from Different Provenances of Sorbus tianschanica

In order to explore the variation law of seeds from different provenances of Sorbus tianschanica, four phenotypic traits of Sorbus tianshanensis seeds from eight provenances were analyzed and compared by means of ANOVA, cluster analysis and correlation analysis. The results showed that the average seed length of Sorbus tianschanica was 4.22 mm, the average seed width was 1.86 mm, the average seed weight was 4.64 g, and the average seed shape index was 2.28. There were significant differences in seed phenotypic traits among different provenances（p＜0.05）. The coefficient of variation of seed length, seed width, 1 000-seed weight and seed shape index were 6.07%, 7.75%, 16.44% and 4.65%, respectively. Seed development was regulated by environmental factors, and seed length and 1 000-seed weight were positively correlated with longitude, which showed a trend of increasing with the increase of longitude. According to the cluster analysis, the 8 provenances of Sorbus tianshanensis were divided into three categories. The provenances with similar geographical locations were basically clustered together, and the kinship relationship gradually became distant from west to east. Due to the influence of geographical and environmental factors, the phenotypic traits of seeds from different provenances were significantly different, among which Qitai seeds were the best and should be given priority in provenances selection.