Volume 30 Number 1 Article 16 Pages: 17-17
Year 1976 Month 1
Title: Diploid Plum x Apricot Interspecific Hybrids
Author: D. Ramming
Citation
Abstract:
Interspecific Prunus hybrids have
potential value by serving as a bridge
to transfer genes from one Prunus species
to another, to create new and useful
fruits and rootstocks, and to increase
our basic knowledge of the
Prunus species.
The diploid plum, 'Methley', was
crossed with apricots and plums.
It
was found that the plum x apricot interspecific
hybrids were as easy to
produce as the plum intraspecific hybrids
when 'Methley' was used as the
female.
It was very difficult to produce
interspecific apricot x plum hybrids
when the apricot was used as
the female.
Characteristics of fruiting plum
(Methley) x apricot interspecific hybrids
produced by L.F. Hough were
observed.
The shape of the leaves of
the F1 interspecific hybrids was intermediate
between the leaf shape of
the plum ,and apricot parents.
The
ovaries of the hybrids were pubescent
like the apricot male parent, rather
than glabrous like the plum female.
Fruit characteristics of the hybrids
were intermediate; the Skin ranged
from red to red and yellow, and the
flesh ranged from yellow to white and
red.
The hybrids produced very few
normal appearing pollen and set only
a few fruit.
Cytological analysis of
the hybrids showed that meiosis was
normal through tetrad formation.
The
low fertility must be overcome before
a breeding program can be efficiently
carried beyond the F1 generation.
The chromosomes in the hybrids
must pair and cross over for the transfer
of genes to occur between the
crossed genomes.
Cytological analysis
indicates that the plum and apricot
chromosomes are similar enough so
that they pair and form chiasmata in
the F1 interspecific hybrid, although
chiasmata formation was significantly
lower than in the apricot parent.
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