RESULTS OF THE APRICOT BREEDING PROGRAMME AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORENCE

The main apricot cultivars in Italy are still the traditional ones, most of which are autochthonous and linked to their zones of origin.
To obtain new cultivars responding to the new agronomic and market requirements, an apricot breeding programme is in progress at the Horticulture Department of the University of Florence, also with the aim of obtaining cultivars characterized by early ripening and adaptability to specific Italian environmental conditions.

The programme started in 2000 with cross-breeding combinations: “Solaria × Aurora” (1), “Solaria × Orange Red” (2), “Orange Red × Aurora” (3), and “Orange Red × Laycot” (4). Crossings have been obtained by isolation and pollination by bumble bee colonies of whole trees.
Obtained seedlings have been evaluated at the Calderoni Nursery analyzing vigour and habit, flowering (amount, time of flowering, place of flowering) and fructification (entity, time of ripening, size, RSR, acidity, firmness, colour of the skin, clingstone). From the breeding programme 414 seedlings were obtained: 182 from progeny 1, 28 from 2, 192 from 3 and 12 from 4. Evaluation permitted the identification of 55 selections that are generally distinguished for early ripening, fruit of good size, flavour and firm flesh with reddish skin.

Study of the progeny obtained reveals differences among the seedlings for pomological characters.