Essential Genetic Resource
Malus and prunus are the most common wild fruit trees. The malus and prunus fruit sold commercially these days is genetically very limited. Most apples, for example, were bred from a mere handful of ancestor trees.
Pomologist Hans-Joachim Bannier, in his article ‘Inbreeding in Modern Apple Cultivation’ writes:
A hundred years ago there were, in Germany [alone], over a thousand apple varieties documented in the literature. The actual number of cultivated apples was probably higher than this – it is unlikely that all of them were fully documented…
In this way a "variety pool" of mixed origins arose. It was genetically diverse, with a wide range of fruit and tree characteristics, and some resistance to diseases and pests.
Today the global fruit breeding industry is producing a wide range of varieties, with one big difference: the overwhelming majority are descendants of just six apple cultivars – Golden Delicious, Cox, Jonathan, McIntosh, Red Delicious and James Grieve.’
(The original article originally appeared in Erwerbs-Obstbau Volume 52, 2011, Numbers 3-4, 85-110, DOI: 10.1007/s10341-010-0113-4.)
Pomologist Hans-Joachim Bannier, in his article ‘Inbreeding in Modern Apple Cultivation’ writes:
A hundred years ago there were, in Germany [alone], over a thousand apple varieties documented in the literature. The actual number of cultivated apples was probably higher than this – it is unlikely that all of them were fully documented…
In this way a "variety pool" of mixed origins arose. It was genetically diverse, with a wide range of fruit and tree characteristics, and some resistance to diseases and pests.
Today the global fruit breeding industry is producing a wide range of varieties, with one big difference: the overwhelming majority are descendants of just six apple cultivars – Golden Delicious, Cox, Jonathan, McIntosh, Red Delicious and James Grieve.’
(The original article originally appeared in Erwerbs-Obstbau Volume 52, 2011, Numbers 3-4, 85-110, DOI: 10.1007/s10341-010-0113-4.)