75 YEARS OF TRADITION IN CLASSICAL PILLNITZ FRUIT BREEDING – AIMS, RESULTS

The last 75 years have seen a historic development in Pillnitz fruit breeding.
In 1928 the ‘Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institute for Breeding Research’ was founded by Erwin Baur in Müncheberg with the department of Fruit Breeding (Martin Schmidt, Rudloff). It was the beginning of systematic fruit breeding in Germany.
The first objectives for cultivars were better yield and fruit quality.
In 1930 research was started on apple scab and frost resistance.
After loss of material and documents during the Second World War the breeding work continued in 1945. New aims were maximum yield, good fruit quality and multiple resistance.
Since 1953 new cultivars of apples, plums, and small fruit have been created, including ‘Alkmene’ (Murawski). In 1971 fruit breeding was centralised in Dresden-Pillnitz (Murawski, Manfred Fischer). Until 1991 new high quality and resistant apple cultivars were selected (Murawski, Christa Fischer) – including: ‘Pinova’, ‘Pilot’, ‘Remo’, and ‘Rewena’ – strawberries (Murawski, Ulrich), sweet cherries (Mihatsch), sour cherries (Wolfram), rootstocks (M. Fischer, Wolfram), plums (Schmadlack), and pears (M. Fischer). Priority was focused on apple breeding for complex resistance (C. Fischer). After reunification, the Fruit Breeding Institute was founded at Pillnitz.
The apple (C. Fischer), strawberry (Dathe) and cherry/cherry rootstock breeding (Wolfram, Schuster) continued with the aims of acquiring excellent fruit quality, complex resistance, and high yield.
New cultivars table fruit, juice, home gardener and landscaping were selected, including: ‘Piflora’, ‘Rebella’, ‘Resi’, ‘Morina’, ‘Karneol’ and ‘PiKu’-rootstocks.
The former pear, apple rootstock and plum breeding was finalised by the Fruit Gene Bank (M. Fischer) with new cultivars, including: ‘Uta’, ‘Thimo’, ‘Gräfin Cosel’ and ‘Supporter’ rootstocks.
The results and challenges of the different periods are discussed including the integration of genetic resources.

XI Eucarpia Symposium on Fruit Breeding and Genetics

M. Fischer, C. Fischer

classical breeding, apple, pear, cherry, plum, small fruit, strawberry, new cultivars

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.663.125