TRADITIONAL OLD APPLE CULTIVARS AS NEW GENE SOURCES FOR APPLE BREEDING

Apple cultivars sustained in their original regions could be an important source of genes for apple breeding programs; we consider it a priority to explore valuable gene sources.
Since 1997 several collecting trips have been organized to Sub-Carpathia (Visk, Ukraine) on the North-East of the Hungarian border for collecting old local cultivars in order to conserve them for posterity and to make them available to breeders and geneticists after their evaluation.
The sample plot is situated near to the Ukrainian-Hungarian border in the Carpathian Mountains in a sporadic apple plantation.
Around 50-60 apple cultivars are grown there which originated from Western-Europe, Soviet Union and Hungary.
The apple trees were grafted on M4 rootstock or seedlings and were planted in extensive growing system.
The growers have not used any fertilizer and pesticide since 1992 (the disintegration of the Soviet Union). During the growth season we have done several surveys on these cultivars, including the evaluation of the vegetative characteristics and fruit quality.
From this region, we collected up to 20 old apple cultivars and we will evaluate them in our conditions.

XI Eucarpia Symposium on Fruit Breeding and Genetics

M. Tóth, K. Kása, ZS. Szani, E. Balikó

Malus x domestica, acid content, fruit quality, soluble dry matter,

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.663.107