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Susceptibility to brown rot, caused by Monilinia fructicola (Wint.) Honey, changed with fruit ripening in the susceptible clingstone peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] cultivar Corona and two moderately resistant genotypes. Nonwounded fruit were more resistant before epidermis color break from green to yellow. Susceptibility increased from color break to the period when the epidermis had acquired a uniformly yellow ground color. With continued ripening, susceptibility remained constant or decreased, depending on genotype. A ripeness index based on fruit color permitted objective within and between genotype comparisons of susceptibility. The genetic selection for precociously developing high yellow-orange flesh color has resulted in a clingstone peach selection possessing a flesh quality suitable for processing and with high levels of brown-rot resistance at the mature-green fruit development stage.
California almonds [Prunus dulcis, syn. P. amygdalus, P. communis] possess a moderately lignified `paper' shell rather than the stony, peach-pit type shells common to European and Asian cultivars. At nut maturity, more than 70% of shells of the principal California cultivar Nonpareil can be split. Use of a mechanical shaker to harvest nuts increased the proportion of nuts with split shells by 40% when compared to hand harvest. All shell splitting occurred at the ventral suture with ∼ 80% of the splits occurring at the site of the degenerating funiculus leading to the aborted or secondary ovule. Remaining splits occurred near the site of the funiculus feeding the viable ovule, and only rarely at the suture line. Abortion of one of the two ovules in the almond ovary is often initiated at or shortly after bloom, and so the final site of shell splitting appears to be predetermined early in fruit development. Measurements of the strength of the inner endocarp wall at 50 days after flowering showed distinct weaknesses in the areas of the developing funiculi. Similarly, damage to the developing kernel at 60 days after flowering by the leaffooted bug (Leptoglossus clypealis Heiderman) occurred along the ventral suture, with 80% of the damage located at the point of attachment of the secondary funiculus.
Rate of brown rot lesion development following inoculation with Monilinia fructicola (Wint.) honey varied within clingstone peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) germplasm evaluated in 1990 and 1991. High levels of resistance were identified in selections derived from the Brazilian clingstone peach cultivar Bolinha. Resistance appeared to be limited to the epidermal tissue. No relation was detected between brown rot resistance and concentration of phenolic compounds or polyphenol oxidase activity in the susceptible California germplasm. An inverse relation was observed between disease severity and rating for phenolic-related discoloration when `Bolinha' derived selections were analyzed. A moderate positive correlation was observed for all germplasm tested between genotype means for phenolic content and enzymatic browning. Any causal relationship, if it exists, between phenolic content and brown rot resistance is obscured by an array of physical and chemical changes in the maturing fruit.
A single seedling exhibiting a semidwarf growth habit was found in an open-pollinated clingstone peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] population. The growth habit was upright and open, with short, spur-like lateral branching. Tree size was about half that of its siblings as a result of shorter internodes. The total number of nodes on first-order branches was not significantly different from that on standard-sized trees. The semidwarf growth habit remained stable after vegetative propagation. Segregation in sexual progeny showed the trait to be highly heritable.
The techniques of micrografting provide useful tools for the early propagation of breeding lines in variety improvement programs. In this study, the success of various in vivo micrografts of buds of `Nonpareil' almond (Prunus dulcis) seedlings have been examined. Variables tested include type of microscion, the rootstock genotype, and the growth stage of the rootstock. Microscions tested included small [3 mm (0.12 inches)] microwedges from either unsprouted or recently sprouted buds. Approach micrografts were also evaluated. Three-month-old woody rootstocks tested included `Nemaguard' and `Nemared' peach (P. persica) rootstocks, and the `Hansen' (peach × almond) hybrid rootstocks. `Nemared' rootstocks were also grafted after 1 month of growth when the tissue was still herbaceous. Micrografts onto woody rootstocks and using recently sprouted buds showed the best results. With very young or weak seedlings, where the recovery of microscions was difficult, the use of approach micrografts onto herbaceous rootstock proved a useful technique.
Sharka [(plum pox virus (PPV)] mainly affects Prunus species, including apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.), peach (Prunus persica L.), plum (Prunus salicina Lindl., Prunus domestica L.), and, to a lesser degree, sweet (Prunus avium L.) and sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.). Level of resistance to a Dideron isolate of PPV in seven California almond [P. dulcis (Miller) D.A. Webb], five processing peach cultivars, and two peach rootstocks was evaluated. In addition, almond and peach selections resulting from interspecific almond × peach hybridization and subsequent gene introgression were tested. Evaluations were conducted in controlled facilities after grafting the test genotypes onto inoculated GF305 peach rootstocks. Leaves were evaluated for PPV symptoms during three consecutive cycles of growth. ELISA-DASI and RT-PCR analysis were also employed to verify the presence or absence of PPV. Peach cultivars and rootstocks showed sharka symptoms and were ELISA-DASI or RT-PCR positive for some growth cycles, indicating their susceptibility to PPV. Almond cultivars and almond × peach hybrids did not show symptoms and were ELISA-DASI and RT-PCR negative, demonstrating resistance to PPV. Two (almond × peach) F2 selections as well as two of three backcrossed peach selections also showed a resistant behavior against the PPV-D isolate. Results demonstrate a high level of resistance in almond and indicate potential for PPV resistance transfer to commercial peach cultivars.
The genetic relationships among peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch], almond [P. dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb or P. amygdalus (L.) Batsch] and 10 related Prunus species within the subgenus Amygdalus were investigated using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. P. glandulosa Pall. was included as an outgroup. Polymorphic alleles were scored as present or absent for each accession. The number of alleles revealed by the SSR analysis in peach and almond cultivars ranged from one to three whereas related Prunus species showed a range of one to 10 alleles. Results demonstrated an extensive genetic variability within this readily intercrossed germplasm as well as the value of SSR markers developed in one species of Prunus for the characterization of related species. Mean character difference distances were calculated for all pairwise comparisons and were used to construct an unrooted dendogram depicting the phenetic relationships among species. Four main groups were distinguished. Peach cultivars clustered with accessions of P. davidiana (Carr.) Franch. and P. mira Koehne. The second group contained almond cultivars. A third group included accessions of P. argentea (Lam) Rehd., P. bucharica Korschinsky, P. kuramica Korschinsky, P. pedunculata Pall, P. petunikowii Lits., P. tangutica (Spach) Batal., and P. webbii (Spach) Vieh.. P. glandulosa and P. scoparia Batal. were included in a fourth group.
Almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb, syn. P. amygdalus, Batsch; P. communis (I.) Archangeli] represents a morphologically and physiologically variable group of populations that evolved primarily in central and southwest Asia. California cultivars have been developed from highly selected subgroups of these populations, while new breeding lines have incorporated germplasm from wild almond and closely related peach species. The genetic relatedness among 17 almond genotypes and 1 peach genotype was estimated using 37 RAPD markers. Genetic diversity within almond was found to be limited despite its need for obligate outcrossing. Three groupings of cultivar origins could be distinguished by RAPD analysis: bud-sport mutations, progeny from interbreeding of early California genotypes, and progeny from crosses to genotypes outside the California germplasm. A similarity index based on the proportion of shared fragments showed relatively high levels of 0.75 or greater within the almond germplasm. The level of similarity between almond and the peach was 0.424 supporting the value of peach germplasm to future almond genetic improvement.
Six cross-incompatibility groups, which contain most of commercially important California almond cultivars [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb, syn. Prunus amygdalus Batch], and their self-incompatibility (S) allele genotypes are identified. Incompatibility groups include `Mission' (SaSb), `Nonpareil' (ScSd), and the four groups resulting from the `Mission' × `Nonpareil' cross: (SaSc), (SaSd), (SbSc), and (SbSd), as represented by `Thompson', `Carmel', `Merced' and `Monterey', respectively. All seedlings from the `Mission' × `Nonpareil' cross were compatible with both parents, a result indicating that these two cultivars have no alleles in common. Crossing studies support a full-sib relationship for these progeny groups and the origin of both parents from common germplasm. Cultivars in these six groups account for ≈ 93% of present California production, a result demonstrating a limited genetic base for this vegetatively propagated tree crop.
Pollen of the California almond cultivars Nonpareil, Ne Plus Ultra, Sonora, and Peerless was evaluated for viability following storage over 12 months at 4, 0, -20, and -80 °C. The proportion of viable pollen exceeded 80% for all cultivars and for all temperatures evaluated after 2 months of storage. Following 12 months of storage at 4 °C, germination decreased to 8% for `Nonpareil', 10% for `Ne Plus Ultra', 50% for `Sonora', with no germination observed for `Peerless'. Storage at sub-freezing temperatures maintained pollen viability above 70% in `Nonpareil', `Ne Plus Ultra', and `Sonora' and above 40% in `Peerless'. Cultivars differed significantly in their tolerance to low temperature pollen storage. Within cultivars, differences in pollen germination following storage at 0, -20, or -80 °C were nonsignificant.