VERIFYING THE PARENTS OF THE PILLNITZER APPLE CULTIVARS

A lot of apple cultivars have been released in Dresden-Pillnitz.
Two different series have been developed: the Pi- and the Re-series.
Pi- as prefix indicate that cultivars were bred mainly for quality (Pi for Pillnitz) whereas Re- as prefix indicate the main aim resistance (Re for resistant). Although in apple breeding the protection of flowers with bags, before and after pollination with desired pollen is usual to prevent outbreeding, outbreeders occur.
We were interested in verifying the expected parentage of the Pillnitz apple cultivars.
Therefore a couple of microsatellites were applied to the Pillnitz cultivars and their parents.
Since only three cultivars used as pollen donors for Re-cultivars were still available, only the maternal cultivar of the most Re-cultivars could be checked.
The female parent for all Pi-cultivars tested and the male parent for 16 cultivars could be verified. ‘Pimona’ and ‘Pikora’ seems to descend from a cultivar different from the cultivar used as pollen donor. ‘Pikkolo’ descends from a cross of ‘Clivia’ pollinated with a pollen mixture of the three cultivars ‘Auralia’, ‘Kurzcox’, and ‘Undine’. The pattern of the SSRs confirmed ‘Auralia’ as male parent of ‘Pikkolo’. ‘Regine’ and ‘Reglindis’, as parents of ‘Recolor’, and ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Remo’ as parents of ‘Rekarda’ as well as the female parents of ‘Regia’, ‘Regine’, ‘Reka’, ‘Releika’, ‘Relinda’, ‘Remo’, ‘Rene’, ‘Renora’, ‘Resi’, and ‘Retina’ could be confirmed.
Nevertheless, the female parents of ‘Realka’, ‘Reanda’, ‘Rebella’, ‘Rebecka’, and ‘Reglindis’ could not be verified.
This might be due to the exchange of seeds or budwood for grafting.
If seeds or budwood are exchanged, both parents should be different from the original cross.
This could be shown for ‘Rebella’.

XII EUCARPIA Symposium on Fruit Breeding and Genetics

S. Reim, H. Flachowsky, M.-V. Hanke, A. Peil

apple breeding, outcrossers, parentage, SSRs

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2009.814.50