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Evaluation and supply of resistant cultivars to premature leaf fall (D. coronariae) for meadow orchards in Germany (MALResPi 3)
Project
Project code: JKI-ZO-08-4240, 20021/716-34/2
Contract period: 01.10.2021
- 30.09.2024
Purpose of research: Applied research
In recent years, in addition to commercial fruit growing (conventional and organic), there has been an increasing interest in the cultivation and utilization of fruit from other areas (scattered fruit, along roads and in small gardens). The cultivation of scattered fruit continues to characterize our landscape and, in addition to their cultural significance, they also have important ecological significance as unique biotopes for numerous animal and plant species. At the same time, they are also an important resource for the diversity of local and regional fruit varieties. This diversity is severely threatened by the decline of the cultivation area from 1.5 million ha to currently 300,000 ha. Intensification of agriculture, lack of maintenance of over-aged orchards and lack of new planting are just a few causes of this decline. In addition, there is a lack of adequate plant material for this form of production and utilization, which is not only adapted to local environmental conditions and circumstances, but also robust against diseases and pests. Consequently, in new plantations of orchards with standard cultivars, pathogens may spread, not only threatening the plantation itself, but also spreading from there to commercial crops and home and small gardens. Increasingly, these diseases include premature leaf fall (Diplocarpon coronariae). In the last 10 years, this fungus has spread massively in southern Germany. The disease mainly affects orchards and trees in small gardens. Which cultivars are robust against the pathogen is still unknown. So far, no apple cultivar has been described as resistant to the early leaf drop. In Germany, it is estimated that there are several thousand old and historic cultivars that are adapted to local conditions and would be available for new planting in mixed orchards. A part of these varieties is directly preserved in orchards. Another part is collected and preserved in the Deutsche Genbank Obst (DGO, https://www.deutsche-genbank-obst.de/). These varieties are mainly the German varieties, varieties with socio-cultural, local or historical relation to Germany and varieties with important orchard characteristics. At the same time, the existing knowledge about these varieties is also documented. Unfortunately, however, in the course of time, parts of this knowledge have been lost. This concerns e.g. also the robustness against diseases. However, scientifically sound knowledge is very scarce, especially when it comes to novel diseases such as premature leaf fall (D. coronariae). Therefore, in order to minimize the spread of premature leaf fall disease as well as damage caused by planting the wrong cultivars in orchards, it is necessary to evaluate cultivar susceptibility to this new disease and to investigate its causes. The aim of the project is therefore to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the genetic resources of DGO apple for susceptibility to D. coronariae. The work will include both the identification of resistant/low susceptible cultivars using artificial tests in the laboratory and greenhouse, and the identification of genomic regions with association to resistance. For this purpose, the collected data of phenotypic traits are offset against the data of a SNP marker analysis performed in advance in a genome-wide association study. This knowledge is not only important for the orchard sector, but at the same time also for the selection of cultivars in the home and small garden sector, commercial cultivation, organic cultivation, as well as for breeding.
Section overview
Subjects
- Arboriculture
- Genetic Resources
