Biochemical, Mineral, and Morphological Properties of Indian Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.)

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) is an economically important perennial fruit tree valued for its pulp yield, nutritional composition, and processing suitability. This study evaluated 10 grafted tamarind cultivars grown under semi-arid conditions in Gujarat, India, over four seasons (2020-2024) to assess morphological, yield, biochemical, and mineral traits and to identify superior genotypes using multivariate approaches. Significant varietal differences (p < 0.001) were observed for most traits. Goma Prateek exhibited superior pod length (15.0 cm), pulp weight (9.21 g), vitamin C (24.1 mg 100 g^-1), total phenols (67.9 mg 100 g^-1), total flavonoids (35.5 mg 100 g^-1), antioxidant activity (89.4%), calcium (0.75%), and iron (0.24%). Pratisthan showed the highest pulp percentage (49.8%) and real pulp value (5.13). Genotypic correlations revealed strong associations among pulp weight, real pulp value, pod weight, and mineral traits. Principal component analysis explained 98.90% of total variability in the first eight components, with PC1 (27.40%) associated mainly with yield traits and PC2 (20.60%) with pulp quality attributes. Cluster analysis grouped cultivars into three distinct clusters, highlighting substantial divergence; Sweet Type and Goma Prateek showed the greatest genetic distance. Overall, Goma Prateek, Ajanta, and Pratisthan emerged as promising cultivars combining yield and nutritional quality. The integrated evaluation of morphological, biochemical, and mineral traits provides a robust framework for tamarind breeding and cultivar selection under semi-arid conditions.