ISHS Acta Horticulturae 484: Eucarpia Symposium on Fruit Breeding and Genetics
LATVIAN APPLE GENETIC RESOURCES AND THEIR POTENTIAL FOR BREEDING |
| Author: | L. Ikase |
| Keywords: | Malus pumila, local cultivars, disease resistance, tree habit, fruit quality |
| Abstract:
In Latvia, the apple gene pool has been influenced by both Western and Russian varieties. In the local climate, cold winters are rather common and usually combined with frequent thaws, while summers are cool and short and insufficient for proper maturing of many varieties. A number of interesting cultivars have originated in this environment as chance seedlings and, more recently, controlled crosses. Approximately 470 apple cultivars, clones and élite hybrids of local origin are listed in the computerised register of Latvian plant genetic resources at the Institute of Biology, Salaspils. Until now, the Latvian breeders laid most stress on a few traits: productivity, hardiness, eating quality and resistance to scab. The following traits of tree and cropping of local cultivars should be studied more: tolerance to Nectria, easy training, good fruit spacing on tree, reliable ripening, climatic adaptation. For fruit characters, scarce attention has been paid to: uniformity, bright colour, amount of russet, causes of storage disorders, shelf life and oxidation of cut fruit. Potential sources of useful traits have been sought among local cultivars, and 28 promising cultivars have been analysed in detail. | |
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