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SID 5 Research Project Final Report

NoteIn line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Defra aims to place the results of its completed research projects in the public domain wherever possible. The SID 5 (Research Project Final Report) is designed to capture the information on the results and outputs of Defra-funded research in a format that is easily publishable through the Defra website. A SID 5 must be completed for all projects.

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Project identification

1. Defra Project code FO0314

2. Project title

Maximising the potential from the cherry breeding programme

3. Contractororganisation(s)

East Malling ResearchNew RoadEast MallingKentME19 6BJ

54. Total Defra project costs £ 75,161(agreed fixed price)

5. Project: start date................. 01 April 2008

SID 5 (Rev. 3/06) Page 1 of 17

end date.................. 31 March 2009


6. It is Defra’s intention to publish this form. Please confirm your agreement to do so...................................................................................YES NO (a) When preparing SID 5s contractors should bear in mind that Defra intends that they be made public. They

should be written in a clear and concise manner and represent a full account of the research project which someone not closely associated with the project can follow.Defra recognises that in a small minority of cases there may be information, such as intellectual property or commercially confidential data, used in or generated by the research project, which should not be disclosed. In these cases, such information should be detailed in a separate annex (not to be published) so that the SID 5 can be placed in the public domain. Where it is impossible to complete the Final Report without including references to any sensitive or confidential data, the information should be included and section (b) completed. NB: only in exceptional circumstances will Defra expect contractors to give a "No" answer.In all cases, reasons for withholding information must be fully in line with exemptions under the Environmental Information Regulations or the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

(b) If you have answered NO, please explain why the Final report should not be released into public domain

Executive Summary7. The executive summary must not exceed 2 sides in total of A4 and should be understandable to the intelligent

non-scientist. It should cover the main objectives, methods and findings of the research, together with any other significant events and options for new work.

Approximately 450 ha of cherries (Prunus avium) are currently grown in the UK, but demand greatly exceeds supply with imports in the region of £45 million per annum. Increasing demand for locally produced fruit and good prices coupled with the development of new cropping systems, improved cultivars and dwarfing rootstocks have encouraged growers’ interest in planting cherries. Improved late cropping cultivars are needed to significantly extend UK cherry production season allowing growers to increase market share and maximise returns. At East Malling Research (EMR), in project HH3717STF ‘Extending the season of stone fruit by breeding late-ripening cherries and medium-early and medium-late plums’, we have improved the small-fruited breeding lines that can be picked into October; however, further breeding is needed to improve fruit quality, mainly texture and size. The one-year project reported here aimed to maximise the exploitation and/or preservation of genetic material acquired and developed in the previous project.

Based on previous records, as well as information collected in 2008, EMR Prunus germplasm was classified in the four categories to allow rationalisation and future development of the material:

- Selections suitable for immediate commercialisation and release to UK growers- Selections suitable for replicated trial and evaluation- Progenies under evaluation that could render further selections or breeding lines- Genetic resources to be access by the National Fruit Collections

C18-19, a good cropping and cracking resistant selection, has been chosen for release as a cultivar in 2009. It will be named ‘Zoe’ and we expect to apply for Plant Variety Rights as soon as possible.

Sixteen selections propagated between 2006 and 2008 will be available for replicated trials from 2009 onwards. In addition, from the fifteen families evaluated under netting during the 2008 summer, C532 has been identified as the most interesting, along with two or three promising


seedlings that will be assessed again in 2009.

With respect to the preservation of genetic resources, the EMR collection includes historically important and overseas cultivars, breeding lines, an interspecific mapping progeny and a series of ‘voucher’ accessions for unusual genes or self-(in)compatibility alleles in sweet and sour cherry as well as myrobalan.

After a series of meetings with Defra and the University of Reading (curators of the National Fruit Collections (NFC)) and following the advice of the National Fruit Collection Advisory Committee (NFCAC), an agreement was reached to propagate a total of 114 genotypes in 2009 to be accessed by the NFC at Brogdale. Defra have agreed to finance the propagation of material that adheres most closely to current accession policy whilst EMR will provide genotypes of research interest free of charge.

The NFCAC did not deem appropriate the addition of the 90 individuals from the P. avium ‘Napoleon’ × P. nipponica F1292 mapping progeny to the NFC. This was despite the value placed on this type of resource by the European Co-operative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) and will likely lead to the loss of a well characterised resource (Clarke et al., 2009) as EMR is rationalising its plant breeding.

The final objective was for EMR to facilitate in the development of an industry-funded sweet cherry breeding programme which would continue the exploitation of novel germplasm developed at EMR for commercialisation. A brochure highlighting both EMR’s research capabilities in cherry breeding and the value of its late-maturing cherry germplasm in our pipeline was prepared and circulated to members of the UK fruit industry as well as several potential overseas investors. Following a invited stakeholder meeting in September 2008, a proposal to create a Cherry Breeding Club was drafted and presented to investors who, despite their initial interest, seem reluctant to commit at this point. This may be due to deterioration of the global economy during the last six months. Nonetheless, EMR continues to investigate avenues to fund further breeding and cherry research.


Project Report to Defra8. As a guide this report should be no longer than 20 sides of A4. This report is to provide Defra with details

of the outputs of the research project for internal purposes; to meet the terms of the contract; and to allow Defra to publish details of the outputs to meet Environmental Information Regulation or Freedom of Information obligations. This short report to Defra does not preclude contractors from also seeking to publish a full, formal scientific report/paper in an appropriate scientific or other journal/publication. Indeed, Defra actively encourages such publications as part of the contract terms. The report to Defra should include: the scientific objectives as set out in the contract; the extent to which the objectives set out in the contract have been met; details of methods used and the results obtained, including statistical analysis (if appropriate); a discussion of the results and their reliability; the main implications of the findings; possible future work; and any action resulting from the research (e.g. IP, Knowledge Transfer).

INTRODUCTION

The UK acreage of cherry (Prunus avium) is approximately 450 ha and has been increasing steadily since 2003. The wholesale value of the UK grown crop is approximately £2 million, depending on the year. Demand greatly exceeds supply and imports in the region of 20,000 t (£40-48 million) have been needed in recent years. UK cherry production is currently restricted to the South-East but climate change is likely to have a positive influence on the cultivation of reliable cropping orchards. Increasing demand for locally produced fruit and good economic returns, coupled with the development of new cropping systems, improved cultivars and dwarfing rootstocks, have encouraged growers’ interest in planting sweet cherries.

The opportunity for extending the UK cherry production season is significant due to the existing gap in the portfolio of commercial varieties. Cherry prices increase considerable during July, as the southern European crop comes to an end. Best prices for UK growers are achieved during late July, but few commercial cultivars crop into August and thereafter; the supermarkets are supplied by high-priced imports, e.g. from Washington State, USA. The lack of late fruiting cultivars leads to loss of market share and income; therefore there is great interest in the UK for development of late fruiting varieties that could potentially double the current wholesale value of the UK crop. A few new cultivars ripen in early August, including EMR’s ‘Penny’, but commercial varieties ripening from mid-August to September are needed to maximise growers’ returns. At EMR, in project HH3717STF ‘Extending the season of stone fruit by breeding late-ripening cherries and medium-early and medium-late plums’, we have improved the small-fruited breeding lines that can be picked into October however, further breeding is still needed to optimise fruit quality, mainly texture and size.

This project aimed to maximise the outputs from HH3717STF by identifying the potential of the germplasm and breeding lines developed and deciding on the most appropriate route for their delivery to the industry. Data and available descriptions of breeding lines needed to be organised into a uniform, searchable format to facilitate subsequent commercial assessment and the further scientific evaluation of some of EMR’s more recent cherry progenies to optimise further breeding strategies. This project was also intended to promote the establishment of a new commercially-funded EMR Cherry Breeding Club as a vehicle for maximising the potential of the breeding lines developed at EMR with Defra funding. This would be done in consultation with the Stone Fruit Club and other stakeholders. The Stone Fruit Club is a technology transfer vehicle (originally set up by EMR) which does not directly fund the development of new varieties but constitutes an industry forum for interchange between research workers, growers, advisors and marketers via periodic meetings and is thus an important route for technology transfer and communication with the UK industry.

EMR has an extensive genebank collection which it has maintained for many years, through Defra support, as a resource in its rosaceous genomics work and the cherry breeding programme. With the


transfer of cherry breeding activities into the private sector, it is envisaged that this material will need to be rationalised and perhaps planted at other locations for genetic conservation, development and use. Therefore, this project has also aimed to identify industry appropriate accessions that could be incorporated into other collections in order to preserve a high level of genetic variation within UK germplasm. As Defra maintains its national fruit germplasm conservation programme at the Brogdale Farm site, it was intended that discussions with the University of Reading (scientific curators) and Defra would lead to the addition of part of this germplasm to improve the genetic diversity of the National Fruit Collection, in particular following the recent identification of a large number of duplicate accessions using microsatellite fingerprinting (project GC0140). The EMR Prunus genebank will contribute greater genetic diversity to the collection, being highly polymorphic and comprising of several different species of Prunus that are not currently represented at the NFC and would be an ideal replacement for the multiple duplicates identified within the NFC Prunus collection.

The aims of this project are consistent with Defra’s priority area 'Sustainable Farming and Food'; increasing the UK production of locally sourced late season cherries should improve the UK's food security and reduce imports which have particularly high carbon costs. Cherries fall into the high health 'five-a-day' scheme, are a rich source of anthocynanins, and are particularly appealing to children. Increasing the acreage of cherry plantings will also have a beneficial affect on the rural economy and the landscape.

SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES

This project comprised three scientific objectives:

1. Evaluation of EMR cherry germplasm and gene bank collections to facilitate decision making by 31 December 2008 to allow for propagation

2. To identify the potential of the collections and germplasm generated in project HH3717STF and decide on the most appropriate route for its delivery to the industry

3. Development of further industry funded evaluation and commercialisation by 31 March 2009

PROGRESS MADE UNDER EACH OBJECTIVE

Objective 1

EMR has an extensive genebank collection, including over 100 Prunus avium (sweet cherry) accessions and approximately 150 other Prunus species and hybrid accessions, which it has maintained for many years, through Defra support, as an indispensable resource for cherry breeding as well as rosaceous genomics research. As EMR progresses in the transfer of cherry breeding activities into the private sector, there is a need to rationalise this material and it is imperative that alternative locations are found so the material can be preserved for genetic conservation, development and future use. The National Fruit Collection (NFC) was considered as the appropriate location for this Prunus germplasm as it would allow the incorporation of species, cultivars and/or traits not currently represented at NFC.

To facilitate decision making, a list of 118 accessions was compiled from category iv (Objective 2) which were considered as meriting accession into the NFC as key genetic resources. This list comprised several cultivars of P. avium (sweet cherry), P. cerasifera (myrobalan) and P. cerasus (sour cherry) as well as accessions from these and other minor Prunus species. Many of these genotypes have been used to describe novel alleles from the self-(in)compatibility locus and are, therefore, ‘voucher’ accessions needed for potential future research.

In addition, 90 individuals from a mapping progeny between P. avium ‘Napoleon’ × P. nipponica F1292 were put forward for consideration as a key genetic resource. Recent AEGIS discussions in Poland recognised the importance of conserving genetic stocks and mapping progenies as well as cultivars. AEGIS, is an initiative from the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) to create A European Genebank Integrated System for plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, aimed at conserving the genetically unique and important accessions in Europe and making them available for breeding and research. It advocates the conservation of such material under


conditions that ensure genetic integrity and long-term viability. In this respect, characterised research material can be considered more important than historic cultivars of known or unknown parentage therefore the ECPGR recognises fruit mapping progenies as high priority for conservation. Moreover, the P. avium ‘Napoleon’ × P. nipponica F1292 progeny segregates for resistance to Coccomyces leafspot (Schuster & Tobutt, 2004), which is likely to become a problem in UK and would be an invaluable tool for the identification of markers linked to this trait as a saturated genetic map is already in place (Clarke et al., 2009).

A list was presented to the members of the National Fruit Collection Advisory Committee (NFCAC) in July 2008. Several rounds of discussion were undertaken and additional information was supplied e.g. regarding voucher accessions for self-(in)compatibility (S-alleles). At a meeting in December 2008, EMR, Defra and the University of Reading agreed on an annotated list to be sent to the NFCAC for consideration at their January 2008 meeting, with four groups as follows:

1. Sixty accessions were recommended for accession in the NFC in agreement with current accession policy as they either possessed interesting traits and/or genetic diversity or are established cultivars many of which are rare in Western Europe

2. Forty-one accessions plus the 94 individuals of the mapping progeny were considered of interest for having been involved in published or current research, or of interest for future research. These were acknowledged as important genetic resources but did not immediately fit within current accession policy

3. Another 13 accessions were considered unclear and more information was required to classify them into groups 1 or 2

4. Four accessions were recommended for disposal as they are already present at the NFC or had little interest

In discussion with NFCAC, it was agreed that the University of Reading would obtain a quote for the propagation of material in group 1 from a commercial nursery and that EMR would provide a similar quote. As time for planning propagation of germplasm was running short, it was also decided that EMR would produce a quote for maintaining this germplasm for a further year in order to ensure the preservation of material should the propagation be unsuccessful.

In January 2009, EMR provided Defra with quotes for propagation as well as for the maintenance of germplasm up to April 2010. Further details on group 3 genotypes allowed them to be re-classified into either group 1 or 2. In preparation for the NFCAC meeting in late January 2009, expressions of support for the accession of germplasm in group 2 were sent to Defra by University of Nottingham and EMR.

Based on NFCAC recommendations, an annotated list was put forward for Defra’s consideration in February 2009 (Tables 1 - 3). Genotypes in Group A (Tables 1 and 2) meet current criteria for accession to the NFC according to the NFCAC and are therefore suggested as first priority for incorporation into the NFC. Most of the 65 accessions in this group have historical interest or have been introduced from overseas to increase genetic diversity in the past UK Defra-funded breeding programme. The further 49 genotypes in Group 2 (Table 3) were considered of interest due to existing publications linked to them or for their interest to future research. These accessions do not neatly fit current accession policy but it was thought that NFC was the best place for their preservation.

Table 1. Sweet cherry genotypes in Group A

Accession CommentsP. aviumAnnushka Ukrainian cv. not held elsewhere in Western Europe, said to be ‘late, very

large’Birchenhayes Traditional west country cv. of local originCharger Canker resistant rootstock bred at EMRChristimar Romanian cv. (or landrace), reported to be dwarfish1; not listed elsewhere in

ECPGR databaseDonchanka Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western EuropeDonetsk Beauty Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western Europe, said to be ‘very large’,


Accession CommentsDonetsk Charcoal Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western EuropeDonetsk Early Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western Europe, exceptionally earlyDonn’ Antoni One of the best Sicilian local cv., not listed in ECPGR databaseFerbolus Late ripening cv., medium fruit size; NFC clone is falseGreat Black Delicious Apparently donor of early ripening, not listed elsewhere in ECPGR databaseIvolyska Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western Europe, chemically induced

‘willow leaf’ mutantKreypisch Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western EuropeNoire de Meched Iranian cv., late ripeningRooksandra Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western Europe, said to be ‘large’Penny EMR bred cv., excellent fruit quality, large fruited and fairly lateSan Patrisa One of the best Sicilian local cv., not listed in ECPGR databaseScromitsa Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western Europe, said to be ‘ very large’Staccato Canadian cv., self-compatible and lateStudentka Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western EuropeSweet September USA cv., very late ripening, small fruitedTaina Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western Europe, said to be ‘large and late’Tardif di Vignola Late ripening, good qualityTragana d’ Edessis Late ripening Greek cv., very pigmented and firm, fruit detaches from peduncle

without bleedingValeria N Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western EuropeVasillisa Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western Europe, said to be ‘ very large’9239-8 UK line of genetic interest as a phenotypic ref. for pale green April leaves

(homozygous for yellow green early leaf character) 2, white fleshedC3-35 UK line of genetic interest, extremely late flowering, useful for studies of

adaptive traitsC249-08 UK line of genetic interest, heterozygous for recessive tobacco leaf characterC295-2 UK line of genetic interest, homozygous for the recessive yellow fruit gene and

yellow green early leaf character, white fleshC353-16 UK line of genetic interest, heterozygous for a likely recessive gene for red3

F12/1 UK rootstock selected at EMR, historically and commercially canker resistantCR802-1 Tetraploid form of F12/1 colchicine-induced at EMR 4

189-101-2 Tetraploid form of F12/1 from Wadenswil 4

203-304-2 Tetraploid form of F12/1 from Wadenswil4Early Purple Guigne A Illustrated in the Transactions of the Horticultural Society in 1830-ish.

Apparently lost in the UK but preserved in Australia. It could be checked against the reported description and illustration and if considered true and unique 5 it would be a replacement of lost heritage 6

Temprana de Sot Sport of 'Cristobalina', a cv. with a novel form of non-S self-compatibility 7, very early flowering

JI2434 (Ahrensburg) Very important self compatible line from JI 8, 9 JI2538 (Ahrensburg) Important self compatible line from JI 8, 9 JI2538 (EM) 0011/2 Important self compatible line from JI 8, 9

1 Cireasa et al. (1993)2 Matthews & Dow (1975)3 This gene is yet to be characterised4 Tetraploid (4 ×) variants are of interest for genetic studies (interaction of S-alleles in hetero-allelic pollen) and for breeding triploids for timber; they may differ from diploid forms with respect to water use efficiency or dwarfing5 Molecular fingerprinting could be used to check uniqueness6 Matthews & Dow (1969) included this cv. in their table of incompatibility groups though the classification remains slightly problematic and University of Nottingham might be interested in clarifying it7 Wünsch & Hormaza (2004) 8 JI = John Innes Institute9 of interest to BBSRC project at Nottingham University


Table 2. Other Prunus genotypes in Group A

Accession CommentsP. cerasus Erdi Botermo A Excellent quality sour cherry cultivar Kelleris 16 Important sour cherry cultivar, heavy cropper Ujfehertoi Furtos Good quality sour cherry and key cv. for work on genetics ofself-

(in)compatibility in sour cherry 1

Somatic Hybrid Clone A UK line; very important, reputedly somatic hybrid of wild pear and ‘Colt’ 2

P. × gondouinii Donetsk Giant Duke Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western Europe, said to be 'very

large and black' Kansas Sweet Interesting due to its compact habit Konigin Hortense Available in the UK in 1940's 3 but lost thereafter; very large white-fleshed

fruit, smallish tree Malishka Duke Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western Europe, dwarf, fairly large,

black fruit Marvel Duke Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western Europe, posible hexaploid Night Duke Ukrainian cv., not held elsewhere in Western Europe, relatively large,

resistant to CoccomycesP. canescens F1296 Chinese cherry species; will increase diversity of NFC; apparently field-

resistant to blackflyP. canescens G254 Chinese cherry species; will increase diversity of NFC; apparently field-

resistant to blackflyP. dawyckensis Rare Chinese cherry species; will increase diversity of NFCP. fruticosa Eurasian cherry species; will increase diversity of NFC; tetraploidP. incisa E621 Japanese cherry species; will increase diversity of NFC; highly resistant

to blackflyP. incisa F283 Japanese cherry species; will increase diversity of NFC; likely resistant to

blackflyP. maackii Japanese cherry species; will increase diversity of NFC;P. mahaleb Korponoy South-East European cherry species, rootstock for hotter, drier soils; will

increase diversity of NFCP. mahaleb Magyar South-East European cherry species, rootstock for hotter, drier soils; will

increase diversity of NFCP. mahaleb SL64 South-East European cherry species, rootstock for hotter, drier soils; will

increase diversity of NFCP. maximowiczii East Asiatic cherry species; will increase diversity of NFCP. mugus Himalayan cherry species; will increase diversity of NFC; can be used as

dwarfing rootstockP. pennsylvanica North American cherry species; will increase diversity of NFCP. pseudocerasus Chinese cherry species; will increase diversity of NFC; easy rooting

parent of Colt, produces aerial roots, tetraploidDropmoreana No.1 Rare Canadian hybrid; used as cold resistant rootstock1 Tobutt et al. (2004)2 Ochatt et al. (1989)3 Described by Grubb (1949)

P. cerasifera (myrobalan or diploid plum) accessions with ‘M’ numbers are the 'voucher' specimens for a series of about 13 self-(in)compatibility alleles sequenced at EMR and published by Sutherland et al. (2008). Research involving ‘M’ accessions and reporting further myrobalan sequences has been recently published in Euphytica (Sutherland et al., 2009). There is a presumption that publishing entails provision of sufficient information to allow other scientists to verify the findings and Defra have, quite rightly, stressed the importance of traceability. Therefore, it was thought appropriate to lodge these myrobalan voucher accessions in the Defra collections as no other ‘home’ appears to warrant long-term security.


Table 3. Group B. Accessions of research interest that could be included in the NFC

Accession CommentsP. avium Bigarreau de Mezel Of interest for self-incompatibility research. S genotype distinct from that

reported for Mezel No.3 1

Mona Of interest for self-incompatibility research (S3,S6). There appear to be three different genotypes called Mona in circulation

Taleguera Brilliante Of interest for self-incompatibility research as reference cultivar for S25 (false)

Valera Canadian cv., S genotype historically problematic JI14007 UK origin, JI2 self-compatible selection of interest to BBSRC project at

Nottingham University JI14137 UK origin, JI2 self-compatible selection of interest to BBSRC project at




Nottingham University Bigarreau Reverchon Maybe UK origin, distinct from Reverchon, lost by NFC 3

Black Giant Accession of similar name in Italy but may not be same cv., presumably 'very large'

Decumana (colt) Homozygous recessive for tobacco-leaf gene 4, not listed elsewhere in ECPGR database

Vista Canadian cv., lost from NFC a few years ago 20613 Historically important Swedish colchicine induced tetraploid (C16) 5

20621 Historically important Swedish tetraploidP. cerasus Amarena di Verona

Picciolo Corto Key cv. For sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research 6 (S13 variant) 7

Bruine Waalse Key cv. For sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research 6 (S13 variant) 7

Cacanski Rubin Key cv. for sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research 6 (S13 variant) 7, good fruit quality

Chase Morello Key cv. For sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research 6 (S13 variant) 7

Dubelle Meikers Key cv. For sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research 6 Erdi Botermo B Key cv. for sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research 6 distinct from 'Erdi

Botermo A' Koroser Key cv. For sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research 6

Kronio (false) Key cv. For sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research 6 (S13 variant) 7

Marasca del Lavena Key cv. For sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research 6 (S13 variant) 7

Marasca Luxardo Key cv. For sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research 6

Marasconea Nero di Verona Key cv. For sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research 6

Marasca Piemonte Key cv. For sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research 6 (S13 variant) 7

Marasca Savena Key cv. For sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research 6 (S13 variant) 7

Ramon Oliva (false) Canadian genotype introduced as Ramon Oliva (false); likely polyploid 8 Rheinische

SchattenmorelleGerman cv., used in the USA for self-(in)compatibility research; of interest to Imperial College

Schattenmorelle Key cv. for sour cherry self-(in)compatibility research research 6 (S13 variant) 7,9

Kentish Rootstock UK rootstock of historical importanceP. cerasifera Hessei Key cv. For plum self-(in)compatibility research: S10,S14 10,11 Myrobalan 2944 Key cv. for plum self-(in)compatibility research: S3,S4 10 (probably self-

compatible), surprisingly graft-compatible with cherry Nigra Key cv. For plum self-(in)compatibility research: S2,S14 10

SID 5 (Rev. 3/06) Page 10 of 17

Accession Comments Myrobalan KF Key cv. for plum self-(in)compatibility research: S1,S2 10,11 (probably self-

compatible) Myrobalan Sundial Key cv. for plum self-(in)compatibility research: S2,S10 10 (probably self-

compatible) 'M3' Key cv. For plum self-(in)compatibility research: S3,S6 10,11 'M5' Key cv. For plum self-(in)compatibility research: S2,S4 10,11

'M6' Used for plum self-(in)compatibility research: S2,S4 10

'M7' Key cv. For plum self-(in)compatibility research: S5,S6 10,11

'M10' Used for plum self-(in)compatibility research 'M13' Key cv. for plum self-(in)compatibility research: apparently S2 only

(probably self-compatible) 10

'M15' Key cv. For plum self-(in)compatibility research: S7,S8 10,11

'M16' Used for plum self-(in)compatibility research: S8, S11 10

'M20' Key cv. For plum self-(in)compatibility research: S11, S12 10,11

'M22' Used for plum self-(in)compatibility research: S7, S11 10

Pendula Key cv. For plum self-(in)compatibility research: S1, S15 10,11

F1/3 UK rootstock of historical importance1 Matthews & Dow (1969)2 JI = John Innes Institute3 Described by Grubb (1949)4 Unpublished 5 Santesson et al. (1958)6 Tobutt et al. (2004)7 Marchese et al. (in press)8 Sonneveld et al. (2003)9 ‘Schattenmorelle’ is a type rather than unique genotype therefore our clone may differ from NFC’s EMLA clone10 Sutherland et al. (2008)11 S alleles in bold denote the genotype being the voucher accession for that particular allele

The NFCAC was not able to recommend the accession of the progeny P. avium ‘Napoleon’ × P. nipponica F1292. European research groups such as IRTA (Spain) have been approached regarding the adoption of this progeny, but this may not be possible as funding restrictions for fruit research across the EU are not dissimilar to those in the UK. Unfortunately, this will mean that an important genetic resource will be lost as EMR rationalises its financial ability to support strategic germplasm plantings. Two accessions of P. cerasus introduced for self-(in)compatibility work but not yet characterised (‘Bourboulse’ and ‘Ostheimer Weichsel’) will also be discarded with two other already present in the NFC (P. cerasus ‘Kelleris 14’ and P. × gondouinii ‘Olivet’).

Defra has agreed to fund the grafting and propagation at EMR of genotypes in Group A and EMR agreed undertake the propagation of Group B material. Defra will also fund the planting of genotypes in both groups at NFC, and for their accession into the NFC for maintenance at EMR until 31 March 2010. This germplasm transfer increases the long-term security of this diverse material and aids the development of the NFC into a more robust genetic resource.

Graftwood from material in Groups A and B was collected in February 2009 and cold stored. Unfortunately, trees from four accessions, namely ‘Christimar’ and ‘Taima’ from Group A and M3 and ‘Marasca Savena’ from Group B, have died and therefore no propagation material could be obtained. Additionally, no graft-wood could be taken from either Staccato (Group A) or False Kronio (Group B) as both trees are very weak; however, we expect to be able to collect some material for summer budding. A similar approach might be necessary for several of the ‘M’ myrobalan accession as the quality of the graft wood was not optimal. Confirmation of funding for this work has delayed the start of propagation until the 11 March 2009, which may be detrimental.

SID 5 (Rev. 3/06) Page 11 of 17

Objective 2

Data collected in 2008 together with annotations from objective 1 and information previously compiled was used to categorise and prioritise all EMR’s Prunus germplasm into four potentially different groups:

- Selections suitable for immediate commercialisation and release to UK growers- Selections suitable for replicated trial and evaluation- Progenies under evaluation that could render further selections or breeding lines- Genetic resources to be accessed by the NFC

Selections suitable for immediate commercialisation and release to UK growers

C18-19 is a very promising midseason selection that will be released as ‘Zoe’ in 2009. It originates from an open pollinated seed lot of ‘Inge’ and it has been evaluated in HDC-funded and grower trials where it has shown very good resistance to rain-induced cracking (0% in 2006) and excellent yields (~8 kg/tree in 2006) as well as very good fruit quality; dark, firm and sweet (Brix 20% soluble solids, mean fruit weight 8.7 g). Industry interest in this new variety is high and approximately 1,000 trees have been pre-ordered. C18-28, a sister seedling of ‘Zoe’ of similar characteristics (which are 9 kg/fruit per tree; 11.7 g fruit weight; 19.9 Brix), has also shown good commercial potential and it being propagated for a potential 2010 release.

Figure 1. C18-19 (soon to be ‘Zoe’) cropping on Gisela 5 rootstock

Selections suitable for replicated trial and evaluation

Fifteen families planted in 2002 were evaluated during the summer of 2008. A total of 4.5 rows were netted in spring to protect the fruit from birds and four assessments were carried out between 16 June and 13 August. General comments on the families were recorded as well as notes on the mosi interesting individuals. Attention was paid to tree habit and crop load as well as fruit quality attributes in particular firmness and results from this evaluation are summarised in Table 4. C532 turned out to be the most promising family with two seedlings C532-2 and C532-4 showing good fruit size and quality in early August.

SID 5 (Rev. 3/06) Page 12 of 17

Table 4. Observations on sweet cherry families evaluated in 2008

Plot Family

Cross No. of seedlings (in bold) and comments

SP199

C514 Sasha × JI 14137 4: Some very firm, none promising

SP199

C517 Alman Garod × JI 14681

6: Poor vigour, none promising

SP199

C519 Van × JI 14007 2: Poor crop, none promising

SP199

C520 Hertford × Van 1: Very poor crop

SP199

C522 Alman Garod × Van 5: No. 3 could be interesting: white flesh, firm

SP199

C523 JI 14137 × Colney 10: Poor crop and/or fruit size, none promising

SP199

C524 JI 14137 × Van 5: Very poor crop

SP199

C525 JI 2024* × Colney 32: Several latish, moderate to fair crop, many white fleshed

SP199

C526 Smokey Dun × Colney 4: None promising

SP199

C528 Great Black Delicious × Van

12: early, poor crop, mostly disappointing except for No. 2

SP199

C529 JI 2034 selfed 7: Very poor crop, none promising

SP199

C530 JI 14681 selfed 3: Very poor crop, none promising

SP199

C531 JI 14137 selfed 13: None promising

SP199

C532 Summer Sun × Colney

10: Interesting family, several latish and croppy

SP199

C533 JI 14007 × Van 14: None promising, all black and small

Observations from this season alone are not sufficient to select individuals for trialling and EMR will endeavour to continue their evaluation in 2009; however, 16 individual selected in 2005 and 2007 have been propagated for replicated trials (Table 5).

Table 5. EMR cherry selections propagated for replicated trials

Selection

Cross Comments

C336-10 Lapins × Van Black, good crop, short stalks, spreading habit, 50% chance of SC 1

C365-1 Stark Hardy Giant × Colney

Black, medium-large fruit, good crop, firm, mid season

C367-9 Ferbolus × Colney Black, very large fruit, medium crop, few splits, Penny season; very promising

C369-5 Summit × Colney Black, medium large fruit, good crop, slightly earlier than Penny

C371-4 Colney × Sunburst White, large fruit, good crop, firmish, Penny season, 50% chance of SC

C374-5 Colney × Bing Black, medium-large fruit, medium crop, few splits, firm, Penny season

C417-30 Colney × C210-7 Black, medium-large fruit, medium crop, later than Penny, should be SC

C417-92 Colney Black, medium-large fruit, good crop, later than Penny,

SID 5 (Rev. 3/06) Page 13 of 17

should be SCC421-03 Vic × Colney White, medium-large fruit, medium good crop, later than

PennyC417-317 Colney × C210-7 Black, medium fruit, medium crop, later than Penny, should

be SCC445-17 Sylvia × Noir de Meched Black, medium-large fruit, good crop, long stalks, few split,

earlier than PennyC454-2 Sunburst × Noir de

Meched Black, very large fruit, earlier than Penny, 50% chance of SC

C458-3 Penny × A53 Black, large fruit, mod crop, some split, Penny season, should be SC

C478-3 Sasha × Lapins Black, good eating quality, earlier than Penny, 50% chance of SC

C499-3 Sweetheart × C273-18 Black, few splits, earlier than Penny, 50% chance of SCC512-6 C18-19 × Colney Black, medium-large fruit, slightly earlier than Penny 1 SC = self-compatible or self-compatibilityProgenies under evaluation that could render further selections or breeding lines

An additional 16 progenies from crosses carried out between 2002 and 2005 have been maintained for future evaluation but no seedlings from them fruited in 2008. The parents of these crosses include promising EMR selection such as C18-19 and C273-18, self-compatible lines from the John Innes Institute and good quality commercial cultivars such as ‘Penny’, ‘Summer Sun’ and ‘Sunburst’ and they are expected to produce a proportion of late fruiting individuals.

Genetic resources to be accessed by the National Fruit Collection

Details of this material and its future are covered by Objective 1 above.

Objective 3

This objective aimed to promote the establishment of a commercially-funded cherry breeding programme at EMR with inputs from industry stakeholders such as the Stone Fruit Club and explore the possibility of levy board funding (HDC, Top Fruit Panel) for evaluation and commercialisation activities. To achieve this, we have designed a prospectus highlighting EMR’s cherry germplasm characteristics such as lateness and our research capabilities (Annex 1) which has been distributed to members of the UK fruit industry as well as several potential overseas investors.

On 17 September 2008, EMR hosted a meeting of 20 different organisations representing all part of the supply chain to discuss the establishment of a Cherry Breeding Club to continue the work of the programme. At the time of this meeting, there was considerable enthusiasm for this approach and participants were sent a ‘prospectus’ and asked to confirm their intention to join a Cherry Breeding Club by 31 January 2009. A proposal for potential investors was circulated prior to the meeting. The meeting discussion concentrated on possible formal arrangements, such as the merit of creating a limited company instead of a Club. The same presentation used at this stakeholder meeting was given to members of the International Nursery Network (INN) meeting at EMR in September 2008 to gauge their interests. However, in the intervening period, the UK and European economies have gone into a recession and only six organisations subsequently were able to confirm an interest in the Cherry Breeding Club, and only two of these were at the full subscription rate. This was insufficient funding to launch a breeding club and EMR have put such plans on hold indefinitely. EMR will continue to maintain the cherry pipeline and germplasm at East Malling until new investment can be identified.

POSSIBLE FUTURE WORK

There is a need to develop late-fruiting cultivars to maximise UK growers’ market share in the most profitable part of the season and EMR’s breeding lines would be invaluable for breeding such cultivars. Moreover, young cherry progenies that are yet to fruit will require evaluation and EMR hopes to be able to do so within a privately funded programme.

SID 5 (Rev. 3/06) Page 14 of 17

Neither the physiological or genetic mechanisms involved in late-fruiting in cherry have been elucidated and research is needed to identify molecular markers for this trait. Markers would be particularly useful as cherry has a long juvenility period and this could greatly reduce breeding time and cost by reducing the number of seedlings raised to maturity.

ACTIONS RESULTING FROM RESEARCH

1. Intellectual property A Plant Variety Rights application will be filed for C18-19 (‘Zoe’) as soon as virus-free certified trees are available for PVR testing.

2. Knowledge transfer

Presentations:

Chris Atkinson: invited presentation, Cornwall, Fruit Focus 2 ‘Climate change opportunities – a case study for cherry’, Eden Project, Bodelva, St Austell (14 May 2008)

Kate Evans proposed a list of germplasm that could be accessed in the NFC for the consideration of the members of the National Fruit Collection Advisory Committee (17 July 2008).

Feli Fernández: “Cherry breeding at EMR” - Cherry industry stake holders meeting at EMR (17 September 2008)

Feli Fernández: “Cherry breeding at EMR” – International New Variety Network meeting (25 September 2008)

Other technology transfer:

Feli Fernández and Kate Evans discussed cherry breeding with Thierry Croze (Utopia) at Fruit Focus (July 2008)

Feli Fernández discussed the transfer of Prunus germplasm to the NFC with Katherine Bainbridge (Defra) and Matt Ordidge (University of Reading) at Defra (December 2008)

REFERENCES

CIREASA V., CIREASA E. & GAVRILESCU C. (1993). "Cristimar"-The latest cultivar of dwarfish cherry tree. Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 349:283-284

GRUBB N.H. (1949). Cherries. Crosby Lockwood. London. (UK). 186 pp

MATTHEWS P. & DOW K.P. (1969). Incompatibility groups: sweet cherry (Prunus avium). In: R.L. Knight (ed.) Abstract Bibliography of Fruit Breeding & Genetics to 1965, Prunus. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Farnham Royal: 540–544

MATTHEWS P. & DOW K.P. (1975). Cherry breeding. John Innes Institute Report for 1974

OCHATT S.J., PATAT-OCHATT E.M., RECH E.L., DAVEY M.R. & POWER J.B. (1989). Somatic hybridization of sexually incompatible top-fruit tree rootstocks, wild pear (Pyrus communis var. pyraster L.) and Colt cherry (Prunus avium × pseudocerasus) Theoretical and Applied Genetics 78(1): 35–41

SCHUSTER M. & TOBUTT K.R. (2004). Screening of cherries for resistance to leaf spot Blumeriella jaapii. Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 663: 239–240

SID 5 (Rev. 3/06) Page 15 of 17

SONNEVELD T., TOBUTT K.R. & ROBBINS T.P. (2003). Allele-specific PCR detection of sweet cherry self-incompatibility (S) alleles S1 to S16 using consensus and allele-specific primers. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 107: 1059–1070

SUTHERLAND B.G., CEROVIČ R., ROBBINS T.P. & TOBUTT K.R. (2009). The myrobaban (Prunus cerasifera L.): a useful diploid model for studying the molecular genetics of self-incompatibility in plums. Euphytica 166(3):385–398

TOBUTT K.R., BOŠKOVIĆ R., CEROVIĆ R., SONNEVELD T. & RUŽIĆ D. (2004). Identification of incompatibility alleles in the tetraploid species sour cherry. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 108: 775–785

WÜNSCH A. & HORMAZA J.I. (2004). Genetic and molecular analysis in Cristobalina sweet cherry, a spontaneous SC mutant. Journal Sexual Plant Reproduction 17(4): 203–210

References to published material9. This section should be used to record links (hypertext links where possible) or references to other

published material generated by, or relating to this project.

SID 5 (Rev. 3/06) Page 16 of 17

CLARKE J.B., SARGENT D.J., BOŠKOVIĆ R.I., BELAJ A. & TOBUTT K.R. (2009). A cherry map from the inter-specific cross Prunus avium ‘Napoleon’ × P. nipponica based on microsatellite, gene-specific and isoenzyme markers. Tree Genetics & Genomes 5:41–51

MARCHESE A., BOŠKOVIĆ R.I., CARUSO T. & TOBUTT K.R. Intra-allelic variation in introns of the S13-RNase allele distinguishes sweet, wild and sour cherries. Journal Sexual Plant Reproduction (submitted)

SUTHERLAND B.G., TOBUTT K.R. & ROBBINS T.P. (2008). Trans-specific S -RNase and SFB alleles in Prunus self-incompatibility haplotypes. Molecular Genetics and Genomics 279(1): 95–106

SID 5 (Rev. 3/06) Page 17 of 17

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