Progress in the Japanese plum (Prunus salicina L.) breeding program developed by CEBAS-CSIC and IMIDA in Murcia, Spain

Spain is one of the main plum producing countries in the world.
Particularly noteworthy is the good adaptation of the Japanese plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) cultivars to Spanish climatic conditions and thus the possibility to grow early ripening cultivars that can be harvested in May and June.
However, the Japanese plum crop in Spain has a number of problems that need to be urgently addressed.
A coordinated Japanese plum breeding program between CEBAS-CSIC and IMIDA started in 2011 in Murcia, Spain.
Early ripening time (May-June), high fruit quality, self-compatibility, and resistance to sharka disease (Plum pox virus, PPV) are the main objectives for the newly released cultivars.
So far, around 4500 seedlings have been generated from more than 50 different crosses, including interspecific crosses between apricot and Japanese plum, and are being planted in the experimental orchard.
Complete phenotyping is being carried out, and some promising genotypes have already been selected based on their good characteristics, which must be verified in the following years.

XI International Symposium on Plum and Prune Genetics, Breeding and Pomology

D. Ruiz, J. Cos, J. Egea, F. García, M.D. Nortes, A. Carrillo, A. Guevara

early ripening, fruit quality, sharka resistance, self-compatibility

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2019.1260.9