Morphological characteristics of ornamental peach cultivars in connection with breeding

The ornamental peaches collection in the Nikita Botanical Gardens is the largest one of in the world.
The number of cultivars in the collection varies from 85 to 100 or more in different years, depending on the prospects of existing samples for some parameters.
The gene pool of this collection is based on Prunus persica diversity and hybrids with P. davidiana, P. mira, P. kansuensis, P. dulcis. The germplasm includes best ornamental accessions with morphotypes for flower, leaf and crown, with a complex of traits parameters, including winter-hardiness and fungal disease resistance.
Morphological characteristics for P. persica, established by UPOV, reflect variability present in the fruit peach сultivars’ degree.
Ornamental cultivars have very specified features, especially concerning the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the flower.
The use of wild peach and almond species in breeding for ornamental peaches significantly widened the range of variation for morphological features and resulted in appearance of new morph types.
Analysis of the collection composition according to the main ornamental and morphological features showed that diversity is represented by 5 classes of the tree size, 4 – of vigor, 5 – of habit, 14 – of the corolla colour, 5 – of the degree of double flower, 8 – of the shaped flower, 3 – of the leaves colour, 8 – of the flowering time and others.
In connection with this, we have developed morphological characteristics for describing ornamental peach cultivars to evaluate their distinctness considering available variability.
The study identified 63 traits of the first and second priority, represented by 254 classes, with 35 floral traits.

International Symposium on Horticulture: Priorities and Emerging Trends

L.D. Komar-Tyomnaya

wild species, cultivar, hybrid, traits, distinctness

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2019.1255.7