## 2 Results and Discussion
### 2.1 Pomological Analysis of Pomeranate Accessions
Three fruit shapes (circular, circular to angular, and angular) have been established by [PERSON] (2013) [20], while four forms (oblata, rounded-spheroid, ellipsoid, and ovoid) were identified by [PERSON] et al. [16]. Descriptors of DUS (Distinctiveness, Uniformity, and Stability) for fruit shape (round, ratio <1.0-1.1; ovate, 1.1-1.2; oval, 1.2-1.3; and elliptical, (>1.3) have been used to describe twelve cultivars of pomerangate [21]. The results showed that of all the accessions had the fruit of a round and an ovate shape (Table 1). In agreement with the data collected for fruit weight, the highest peel and carpel membrane weight values were observed in AP2 and BA1, followed by the DC cultivar; this parameter represents the inedible part of the fruit and constitutes waste for consumers and industry. The fruit skin and carpelary membrane weight is inversely correlated to the seed weight in each fruit, and therefore, the accessions showed different proportions between the edible and inedible parts; for the STW parameter, the highest values were measured in the DC cultivar (240.8 g) and in the AP2 accession (210.2 g), while lower weights were recorded for the other local accessions. However, in terms of seed yield, calculated as the percentage of seeds (\(\text{FW}-\text{SCW}\))/\(\text{FW}\times 100\), it ranged from 40% to 57%, with AP2 having a lower seed yield (about 40%) compared to the other accessions: LI (44%), TU1 (45%), BA (46%), TU2 (48%), TU3 (57%), and DC (55%). These results are comparable to those reported in the study on six cultivars of global commercial interest [22]. As underlined by the authors, the final fruit size or weight is not an indicator of higher yields in seeds. Another important parameter is juice yield (%), which was determined as the quantity of juice (ml) obtained by manual extraction from 20 g of seeds divided by 20 g \(\times\) 100. In fact, the yield of juice ranged from 65.9% (DC) to 73.3% (BA1). In addition to the weight of the seeds, which affects the fresh weight of the fruit and its processing, another parameter associated with commercial quality is seed size. Regarding seed characteristics, the samples showed an average seed size with a mean length (SL) of 0.95 cm and a mean seed diameter (SD) of 0.71 cm. The AP2 accession had the highest values for both parameters (SL, 1.09 cm; SD, 0.88 cm), comparable to those of the DC cultivar. According to the DUS and/or UPOV criteria and considering the SL parameter, the seeds fell into two categories: the accessions LII, TU2, TU3, and BA1 had short seeds (<10 mm), while the TU1 and AP2 accessions and DC cultivar had medium seeds (10-15 mm). In relation to the SD parameter, the seeds of all the samples fell into the medium category (5-7.5 mm). According to [PERSON] et al. [23], the seed shape was prismatic in the AP2, BA1, and DC samples, while the others were ovoid in shape. The results of this study agree with [PERSON] et al. [10] who reported, in local accessions of the Campania region (Italy), average values of 10.3 mm and 7.9 mm for the seed length and width, respectively, which are lower than the sizes reported by [PERSON] et al. [24]; the authors, evaluating 13 pomerangate accessions, typical of Apulia, registered values from 9.8 mm to 14.6 mm and 7.2 and 14.6 mm for the seed length and width, respectively. The morphological parameters of the seeds are shown in Table 3. The results highlighted statistically significant differences between all the samples (\(p\leq 0.05\)). Statistically significant differences between the genotypes were also recorded for the seed weight with values ranging from 0.22 g for LII to 0.51 g in AP2. AP2 showed a mean value per seed close to the value observed in DC of 0.50 g (Table 3). [PERSON] et al. [25] reported weights between 0.28 g and 0.36 g in Italian autochthonous cultivars, while previous studies have reported wide weight ranges per seed in Spanish and Italian cultivars with values in the range of 24 mg and 51 mg [11; 24; 26].