Abstract:In this study, 14 phenotypic traits of 160 wild apple (Malus sieversii) germplasm resources in Tianshan area of Ili were evaluated, from which elite germplasms were screened. The results showed that the variation coefficients of the 14 phenotypic traits ranged from 5.75% to 38.44%, with an average of 21.78%, the variation coefficient of fruit hardness was the highest, and the fruit shape index was the lowest. The Shannon-Weiner diversity index ranged from 1.95 to 2.06, with an average of 2.01, and most of the traits were rich in genetic diversity. The membership function of the 160 germplasm resources ranged from 0.202 to 0.681, with a mean value of 0.514, among which 20 resources had the value greater than 0.6, with obvious advantages in fruit weight, fruit hardness and fruit size. Correlation analysis showed that the fruit weight was significantly positively correlated with fruit length, fruit diameter, stalk diameter and fruit hardness, and significantly negatively correlated with soluble solids content and stalk length. The results of principal component analysis showed that the cumulative contribution rate of 5 principal component factors was 79.258%, among which the first principal component was related to fruit traits, the second principal component was related to leaf traits, the third principal component was related to branch traits, the fourth principal component was related to fruit traits and branch traits, and the fifth principal component was related to fruit stalk traits. Based on the 14 phenotypic traits, the 160 germplasm resources were divided into 6 groups, among which group II had the highest fruit weight, group III had the highest fruit hardness, and group V had the highest soluble solids content. The results of this study would provide important references for conservation and utilization of the wild apple germplasm resources.