ISHS Acta Horticulturae 538: Eucarpia symposium on Fruit Breeding and Genetics
RECENT PROGRESS OF APPLE BREEDING AT THE APPLE RESEARCH CENTER IN MORIOKA |
| Authors: | J. Soejima, K. Abe, N. Kotoda, H. Kato |
| Keywords: | Malus, selection, rootstock, genetic engineering |
| Abstract:
Apple breeding at the Apple Research Center in Morioka was initiated in 1939 for dessert use and 1972 for rootstocks. From the Morioka programs, 16 cultivars have been released since 1952 to date. Principal objectives of the dessert apple breeding are put on the improvement of fruit quality, storage ability and disease resistance along with some other horticultural traits. Three cultivars were released in 1997 and 1998. The main aims of the rootstock breeding program were put on the dwarfing ability, disease and pest resistance, tolerance to wet soil condition and propagation ability by hardwood cuttings. Five size-controlling rootstocks were released in 1996 and 1997. Through Agrobacterium mediated transformation system, genes encoding the sorbitol metabolizing enzyme or antifungal proteins, such as chitinase, glucanase and sarcotoxin were transferred to apple cultivars to incorporate useful genes of different species into apple trees. Transgenic lines of ‘Orin’ and ‘JM 7’ have been selected and resistance against several diseases are currently being evaluated. | |
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