ISHS Acta Horticulturae 735: I International Guava Symposium
GUAVA BREEDING IN ISRAEL |
| Authors: | I. Zipori, S. Shuker, A. Dag, E. Tomer |
| Keywords: | fruit section cycle, grading, emasculation efficiency |
| Abstract:
Guava has been known in Israel for the last 120 years. The only commercial variety ‘Ben-dov’, was selected during the 1950s. The fruit is pear-shaped, white-fleshed with a small seed cavity containing a relatively small number of seeds, and a sweet and good taste accompanied by very strong and dominant flavour that is not always favoured by the consumers. The fruit has a very short shelf life. In recent years there has been increasing interest in the fruit, in both the domestic and the export markets. However, the strong flavour and the short shelf life are two factors limiting the development of these markets. Propagation of this variety is from seeds, and the resulting plants resemble the parents phenotypically so it is assumed that the variety is also genotypically rather homogenous. Therefore, in order to obtain wide genetic variation, external genetic material had to be introduced into the breeding program, and hand pollination had to be employed. The imported genetic material included clones of Brazilian, Mexican and Thai origin, differing substantially from each other. Some combinations showed improvements of some desired properties compared to the parents whereas others caused deterioration in these properties. Five promising clones have been found so far, all having good taste combined with weaker flavour. The work is continuing: more hybrids await testing, and additional properties need to be improved. | |
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