Varietal Comparison of Fig (Ficus carica L.) under Climatic Conditions of Soan Valley

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IntroductionF ig (Ficus carica L.) is a primordial crop belonging to mulberry family (Moraceae), is indigenous to Southwest Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean region (Duenas et al., 2008).In Moraceae family, Ficus is one of the largest genera of angiosperms having more than 800 species (Soni et al., 2014).This ancient fruit has been known to mankind for more than 5000 years (Owino et al., 2006;Hossain and Boyce, 2009).Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Iran are prominent fig-producing countries in the Mediterranean region (Ferraz et al., 2020).In the world, Turkey is the largest fig producing Abstract | The present research was conducted to explore the performance of three fig varieties namely Black Ball, Gilgit Selection and Swat Local under the climatic conditions of Soan Valley, District Khushab; Punjab Pakistan during two consecutive years (2017 and 2018).Flowering in studied cultivars started from the end of March to mid-April.Maturity timing in all three cultivars ranged from early June to late June.Fruit of Black Ball cultivar matured earlier (first week of June) as compared to Gilgit Selection and Swat Local fig cultivars (end June).During both years of study, evaluated quantitative parameters revealed that Black Ball variety had maximum fruit weight and firmness (35.27g and 2.4 N.mm -1 ) followed by Gilgit Selection (28.95g and 2.0 N.mm -1 ), and Swat Local (24.72g and 1.8 N.mm -1 ).Fruit size varied from 11.37cm 2 to 14.35cm 2 for Swat Local, and Black Ball Fig cultivars, respectively.Results displayed that maximum yield per plant (15.20 kg) was fetched by Black Ball cultivar in contrast to Swat Local cultivar (9.37Kg).Results of biochemical parameters declared Black Ball as a superior cultivar owing to the maximum value of TSS (15.55%), total sugars (10.85%), antioxidant activity (75.75%) and minimum value of titratable acidity (0.15%).The results suggested that among studied fig cultivars, Black Ball is a premium fig cultivar having superior physical and chemical features which can be used in future breeding programs and establishment of commercial orchards in Soan Valley area of Punjab, Pakistan.