Lecture Notes: The Diversity and Breeding of Apples

Introduction

• There are over 7,500 varieties of apples worldwide.
• Common varieties include Snapdragon, Pixie Crunch, Cosmic Crisp, Jazz, Ambrosia, Red Delicious, and Granny Smith.
• Diversity is due to human efforts in fruit breeding.

Objectives of Apple Breeding

• Farmers' needs:
  • Disease resistance
  • Good storage capabilities
• Consumers' preferences:
  • Appearance
  • Taste
  • Novelty

Process of Apple Breeding

• Selection of Parent Apples:
  • Choose parents with desired characteristics.
• Cross-Pollination:
  • Conducted by hand during blooming in spring.
  • Pollen from one bloom (father) transferred to another bloom (mother).
• Seed Collection and Planting:
  • Seeds collected from mother bloom apple.
  • Takes about five years to grow into fruit-producing trees.
  • Genetic diversity means all seedlings have different traits.

Evaluation and Selection

• Initial Selection:
  • One in 5,000 seedlings may have desired qualities.
• Growth Assessment:
  • Sent to farms for climate and soil effect evaluation.

Traits Analyzed

• 45 tree traits studied, including:
  • Flesh texture and firmness
  • Ripening time
  • Juice sugar content
  • Freshness longevity

Cultivar Formation

• Selection of Best Fruits:
  • Over years, select best fruits and weed out others.
• Grafting Process:
  • Exact copies created by grafting scion wood onto rootstock.
  • Produces new apple trees.
  • Takes up to four years to bear fruit.

Ownership and Naming

• Creating New Cultivars:
  • Accessible to universities, companies, individuals.
• Naming and Trademarking:
  • Original and catchy names needed.
  • Patented cultivars have rights over apples and clones.

Conclusion

• Continuous breeding leads to creative and unique apple names.
• Example names: Pink Lady, Sweet Tango, Kiku, Evercrisp.
• Ongoing cultivation enhances diversity and novelty in apple varieties.