The history of apricot culture and breeding in Romania

Our research aimed to contribute to the knowledge of the historical roots of apricot culture in Romania, its evolution over time, and the breeding activity in releasing new cultivars.
The first notes about apricots appeared in 1653 and come from the Syrian Orthodox cleric and traveler chronicler Paul of Aleppo (1627-1669). From the manuscript “Histoire de la Moldavie” written by Jean-Louis Carra (1742-1793), we found out that the apricot has been present on our land since that time.
In the 19^th century, a series of writings referred to apricot culture, including some cultivars, as well as practical works related to it.
In 1869, on the new estate of the Pantelimon Agricultural Institute, founded in 1852, forerunner of the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, a fruit tree nursery that produced seedlings of apples, pears, apricots, plums, sweet cherries, sour cherries, chestnuts, walnuts, blackberries, blueberries, and gooseberries was established.
In 1921, Nicola Krier registered his name as a breeder, obtaining the apricot cultivars named ‘Târzii de București’ and ‘Dulci de Vișani’, which still exist in some regions.
Research and breeding activities were conducted at the Faculties of Horticulture in the country, including Bucharest (1948 to present), Iași, Cluj, Timișoara, as well as at various institutes and Research Stations for Fruit Growing in Pitești, Constanța, Oradea, Dolj, and Băneasa.
Forty apricot cultivars have been created in the last 30 years, and reference publications on apricot were issued, such as Apricot by Cociu (1993), Apricot and Apricots by Bălan et al. (2008).

EHC2024: International Symposium on the History of Horticulture in Europe

V. Bălan, A. Asănică, F. Stănică, V. Tudor

apricot cultivar, geographical origins, Pomology of the SRR (V)

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2025.1438.30