Assessment of genetic resources of representatives of the genus Prunus L. in the conditions of the Crimea

Abstract

The aim of the work is a comprehensive assessment of the genetic resources of apricot in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, determination of the main directions of breeding and the selection of appreciable genotypes for further most effective breeding use for creating competitive varieties, and their introduction into production. Based on the conducted studies, it was revealed that the main directions of apricot breeding at the modern level is to determine the possibility of effective targeted selection of parental pairs for creating varieties with high commercial qualities of fruits, high-yielding, resistant to abiotic and biotic stress factors, adapted to intensive cultivation technologies. It has been determined that the Zard variety, up to the second generation, transmits to its offspring late flowering and small fruiting size. The most promising apricot genotypes for cultivation in areas with unstable weather conditions in Southern Russia have been identified: Boyarin, Yaltinec, 84-951, 89-653, 99-396, 8316, 10841, 84-941, they are characterized by large or medium-sized fruits, good taste (tasting score 4.1-4.7 points, on a 5-point scale) and attractive appearance, late or mid-late flowering of plants. For breeding for late flowering is of interest: Zapozdalyj, Ozornik, 84-383, 84-895, 8319, 84-875; weak susceptibility to fungal pathogens: clasterosporium and moniliosis 84-919, 84-880, 84-383, 84-915, 84-875, 84-909, 84-803, 84-769, 84-803, 89-545, 10841; drought resistance: Krokus, Yaltinec, 87-2, 84-651, 84-942, 84-988, 84-639, 89-359, 89-526, 89-166 и 89-169. Against the background of dry growing seasons, the yield of the selected breeding forms was at the level of the control variety and higher (2.6-3.9 points).