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Chinese Agricultural Science Bulletin ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (17): 49-55.doi: 10.11924/j.issn.1000-6850.casb2025-1001

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Path Analysis of Fruit Mineral Elements and Main Quality of 8 Early-maturing Apple Varieties in Ili River Valley

TANG Jin(), LU Lei(), DAI Zilong   

  1. Ili Academy of Forestry Sciences, Yining, Xinjiang 835000
  • Received:2025-12-28 Revised:2026-03-23 Online:2026-09-09 Published:2026-09-09

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to clarify the internal relationship between different mineral elements in early-maturing apple fruits in Ili River Valley, to clear the interaction between these mineral elements and main fruit quality indicators, and to screen out the key mineral elements that regulate fruit quality, providing theoretical support for the formulation of reasonable nutrient fertilization scheme and high-quality and efficient production of apples. In this study, the fruits of 8 early-maturing apple varieties in this area were used as experimental materials, and canonical correlation analysis and path analysis methods were applied to systematically study the correlation and path coefficient between fruit mineral elements and main quality indicators. The results of canonical correlation analysis showed that there were significant positive correlation between titratable acid content and Zn content, solid-acid ratio and K content; the single fruit weight, titratable acid content and K content, soluble sugar content and Ca content, soluble sugar content and Fe content showed significant negative correlation. Path analysis showed that the direct effects on single fruit weight were Zn>Ca>Fe>K>Mg; the order of direct influence on fruit hardness was Zn>K>Ca>Mg>Fe; the strength of direct effect on soluble solids was Mg>Zn>Fe>K>Ca; the order of direct effect on titratable acid was Fe>Zn>K>Mg>Ca; the order of direct effect on soluble sugar was Ca>K>Fe>Zn>Mg; the strength of the direct effect on the solid-acid ratio was Mg>Ca>Fe>Zn>K.

Key words: early maturing varieties, mineral elements, path analysis, typical correlation, Ili River Valley

CLC Number: