BREEDING FOR RED FLESH COLOUR IN APPLE: PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES

Novel fruit trait introgression is an important part of the HortResearch apple-breeding programme in developing new varieties with high consumer appeal, and red flesh apple breeding is a major component of this objective.
Active red flesh breeding began in HortResearch in 1998 by crossing low quality red-fleshed accessions with high quality cultivars and advanced selections that have white flesh.
The red-fleshed accessions were mainly grown from open-pollinated seed that were derived from old cultivars and imported into New Zealand in the early 1990s.
To date, approximately 10,000 seedlings have been produced in the F₁ populations.
Modified BC₁ populations have recently been developed using the best red-fleshed seedlings from highly performing F1 families.
Two distinct red flesh phenotypes, putatively named Type 1 and Type 2, which appear to be controlled by different genetic mechanisms, have been identified in accessions and segregating families.
Progress to date in improving fruit quality in red-fleshed apples and towards an understanding of the inheritance of the red flesh character, through the use of phenotypic segregations and molecular markers, is discussed.

XII EUCARPIA Symposium on Fruit Breeding and Genetics

R.K. Volz, N.C. Oraguzie, C.J. Whitworth, N. How, D. Chagné, C.M. Carlisle, S.E. Gardiner, E.H.A. Rikkerink, T. Lawrence

Malus, germplasm, fruit quality, introgression, back-crossing

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2009.814.54