New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts
Review
Breeding rootstocks for tree fruit crops
JAMES N. CUMMINS
Department of Horticultural Sciences
New York State Agricultural Experiment Station
Cornell University
Geneva, New York 14456, United States
HERB S. ALDWINCKLE
Department of Plant Pathology
New York State Agricultural Experiment Station
Cornell University
Geneva, New York 14456, United States
Abstract Identification of problems and prioritising breeding
objectives based on those problems are essential first steps in a rootstock
improvement program. For all tree fruits, incorporating resistances to critical
diseases and pests will facilitate fruit production in a social environment
demanding reduction in pesticide usage. Diseases caused by various
Phytophthora species are important and can be catastrophic for all major
tree fruit crops; breeding for resistance to
Phytophthora has generally
been successful. Very large initial seedling populations are required to permit
suitably rigorous early screening; the breeding team should anticipate odds of
1:10
4 to 1:10
6 that any given seedling will be
commercially successful. In preliminary orchard tests, positive selection for
dwarfing and precocity induction can be made by the fifth year. More rigorous
second tests should be made with a number of commercial varieties in several
locations. Although almost all rootstock improvement programs now rely on
conventional breeding methods, through application of genetic engineering, the
Malling 26 apple (
Malus domestica) rootstock has been successfully
transformed from being highly susceptible to fire blight to being moderately
resistant.
Keywords rootstock breeding; apple; cherry; disease
resistance; pest resistance; genetic engineering
New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 1995, Vol. 23:
395-402
0114-0671/95/2304-0395 $2.50/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand
1995
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (600K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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