Book of

Abstracts
Welcome
It is our pleasure to welcome you at the 1st

❝
International Apricot Plum Symposium, held under the
auspices of the International Society for Horticulture
Science (ISH).
We are glad to organize this first Symposium whose objectives are to establish new links between the Plum, Prune
and Apricot communities and consolidate collaborations among participants, bringing together researchers from
diverse fields of study, sharing a common interest in apricot and plum industries.

The symposium has been constructed to address three main goals:

- a common identification of the future challenges for the industries: they will be expressed by the invited keynotes,
- the maximization of the exchanges between participants and the integration of the young researchers in the
community,
- the maximization of the impact of the research activities for the industries: the visits and meeting with fruit
grower’s representatives have been integrated to address this objective.

The Symposium ressembles almost a hundred of participants coming from the 5 continents. It is comprised of 8
keynote lectures, 43 oral presentations and 54 posters, organized in 6 thematic sessions plus a specific species
session:
1. Orchard management
2. Postharvest and Quality of fresh and processed fruit
3. Pests and Diseases Control
4. Biology and Climate Risk Assessment
5. Genetic Resources, Genetics and Genomics
6. Breeding and evaluation of cultivars and rootstocks

The conference is expected to provide new knowledge and promote scientific dialogues. It will also give the
opportunity to scientists, professionals and students to present their latest findings and discuss their current work
related to both basic and applied aspects.

We hope the meeting will promote the exchange of ideas and international cooperation and collaboration among
researchers to help apricot and plum producers to face tomorrow’s challenges.

Jean-Marc Audergon and Bénédicte Quilot

Conveners

INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France

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Contents

Program 3

Abstracts by sessions
Introduction 7

Session 1 Orchard management 8

Session 2 Postharvest and Quality of fresh and processed fruit 19

Session 3 Pests and diseases control 28

Plum session 37

Session 4 Biology and climate risk assessment 41

Session 5 Genetic resrouces, Gentics and Genomics 48

Session 6 Breeding and evaluation of cultivars and rootstocks 68

Keynote lectures K
Oral presentations O
Posters P

Sponsors 81

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Program
Monday, April 22
16 :00-18 :30 Registration
19 :00-20 :00 Welcome ceremony at Avignon town hall

Tuesday, April 23
8 :00 Registration, Welcome coffee, Poster set up, Presentation uploading
9 :00 Introductory talks
Christian HUYGHE, Agriculture Scientific Director, INRAE
Bénédicte QUILOT, Director of GAFL Research Unit, INRAE
9:20 Keynote lecture : Christian HUYGHE, Directeur scientifique Agriculture, INRAE
Challenges of tomorrow's fruit arboriculture and how they apply to plum and apricot species [Ki]
9:55 Keynote lecture: Matthieu SERRURIER, Economic Studies Department, CTIFL
Inventory and socio-economic issues at the National and International level [Kii]
SESSION 1 Orchard management
10:45 Keynote lecture: Davide NERI, Agriculture, Food and Environment, Polytechnic University of
Marche
How to manage the orchard in a changing climate: new opportunities [K1]
11:30 Loreto CONTADOR
Effect of intensity of winter pruning on fruit quality and sensory analysis on ‘French prune’ plum
(Prunus domestica L.) for fresh market [O1.1]
11:45 Danilo CHRISTEN
Alternative plant protection strategies in apricot growing from agronomic, economic and
environmental perspectives [O1.2]
12:00 Lunch break – Posters
13:30 Jill STANLEY
The relationship between canopy light irradiance, crop load and fruit quality in mature narrow-row
planar cordon apricot canopies [O1.3]
13:40 Karen MESA
Effect of different auxin materials on growth and maturity of 'French’ plum (P. domestica L.) [O1.4]
13:50 Clementine JARDON
Agrivoltaic systems, an opportunity to mitigate the risk of climatic hazards in apricot orchards while
producing renewable energy [O1.5]
14:00 Abdullah AL HOSNI
Calcium Supplementation Ameliorates Salinity stress in Apricot trees irrigated with Reclaimed
Wastewater: A Case Study on the Fragile Terraces Ecosystem of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Northern Oman
[O1.6]
14:10 Lindsay BANDA
Gas exchange and water relations of Imperial Apricot (Prunus armeniaca) cultivar grafted on
Marianna and Apricot rootstocks [O1.7]
14:20 Ilze GRAVITE
Growing and production of cultivars on rootstock Wangenheim in the Latvian meteorological
conditions [O1.8]

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SESSION 2 Postharvest and Quality of fresh and processed fruit
14:45 Keynote lecture: Jill STANLEY, Science Group Leader, Plant & Food Research
Reducing the risk of consumers experiencing poor apricot fruit quality through orchard and postharvest
management [K2]
15:30 Coffee break – Posters
16:15 Séverine GABIOUD REBEAUD
Impact of postharvest ethylene treatment on apricots [O2.1]
16:30 Irina BACCICHET
Apricot fruit quality: small changes today lead to big achievements in consumers’ satisfaction of
tomorrow [O2.2]
16:45 Sylvie BUREAU
Use of a handheld NIR spectrometer for a rapid and non-destructive determination of apricot
internal fruit quality in orchards [O2.3]
17:00 Justine GIROUD ARGOUD
The physico-chemical signatures of apricot reveal a large variability of their processing ability [O2.4]
17:15 Ingunn OVSTHUS
Possible improvements for European plum fruit for fresh consumption [O2.5]
17:30 Alvaro DELGADO
Integrating agro-climatic characterization, chill requirements determination and phenological
information to assess the adaptability of apricot and Japanese plum cultivars in a climate change
context [O2.6]
19:00-20:00 Visit Palais des Papes

Wednesday, April 24
8 :00 Presentation uploading
SESSION 3 Pests and diseases control
8:30 Keynote lecture
Cindy MORRIS, Plant Pathology, INRAE
Metamorphosing epidemiological surveillance into a tool for agroecological management of fruit
tree health [K3]
9:15 Nicolas SAUVION
Early monitoring of insect vectors is the cornerstone of ESFY management [O3.1]
9:30 Jayasankar SUBRAMANIAN
Black Knot resistance in plums: A multi-omic approach to address genetic resistance for an unusual
disease [O3.2]
9:45 Véronique DECROOCQ
Resistance to sharka in wild apricot (P. armeniaca L.) natural populations [O3.3]
9:55 Hedia BOURGUIBA
Dynamics of microbial communities in apricot species related to the identified phylogeographic
groups [O3.4]
10:05 Shadia AL RIJEIBI
Oman Botanic Garden's advancement of IPM and biological control strategies for sustainable pest
and disease management in apricots: a case study from the northern biome [O3.5]
10:15 Coffee break - Posters

APRICOT AND PLUM SEPARATE SESSIONS

11:00-12:00 Apricot networking _ Cellier Benoit XII
11:00 Plum presentations _ Chambre du Trésorier

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 Madalina BUTAC
The current situation and prospects for plum culture in Romania [Oplum.1]
11:10 Nebojsa MILOSEVIC
Could the plum cultivar ‘Nada’ achieve the global importance seen in earlier cultivars from the Fruit
Research Institute, Cacak [Oplum.2]
11:20 Antonieta VERDUGO
Efficacy of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in the thinning of Japanese plums
[Oplum.3]
11:30 Victor BEYA
Thinning efficacy of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in Japanese plums [Oplum.4]
11:40 Enrico LODOLINI
In continuous over-the-row harvesting for Prunus domestica in Central Italy [Oplum.5]
11:50 Luke MILLIRON
Mechanical Pruning Trial after Five Years in ‘French’ Prune in a California Commercial Orchard
[Oplum.6]
12:00 Lunch break – Posters
13:15 Departure for technical tour
19:00 Arrival in Avignon
20:00 Social diner _ Espace Jeanne Laurent

Thursday, April 25
8 :00 Presentation uploading
SESSION 4 Biology and Climate Risk Assessment
8:30 Keynote lecture: Inaki GARCIA DE CORTAZAR ATAURI, AgroClim Unit Director, INRAE
Climate change and perennial crops. Some questions about past and future impacts and adaptation
and mitigation strategies [K4]
9:15 Pavlina DROGOUDI
Historical changes in winter chill and relatedness with apricot bloom and yield, in Northern Greece
[O4.1]
9:30 Erica FADON
Exploring pollen development to detect endodormancy breaking and determine chilling
requirements in apricot cultivars [O4.2]
9:45 Franz NIEDERHOLZER
Seasonal pattern of sink/source limited fruit growth in ‘Improved French’ prune [O4.3]
10:00 Coffee break – Posters
SESSION 5 Genetic Resources, Genetics and Genomics
10:45 Keynote lecture: Andrea PATOCCHI, Head of Fruit Breeding Group, AGROSCOPE
Twenty-five years of breeding research in apple: Can the lessons learned be of inspiration to apricot
and plum breeding research? [K5]
11:15 ROUND TABLE
11:45 Véronique DECROOCQ
Prunus brigantina: the missing link between apricot and plum species? [O5.1]
12:00 Hedia BOURGUIBA
Evolution of genetic diversity patterns of worldwide Prunus armeniaca L. resources [O5.2]
12:15 Sezai ERCISLI
Wild apricots (Zerdali): High morphological, biochemical and phytochemical diversity [O5.3]
12:25 Lunch break – Posters
14:00 Igor PACHECO CRUZ
Following the track of a genetic variation that drastically modifies the catechin/epicatechin ratio in

5
 Japanese plum fruits [O5.4]
14:15 Shuo LIU
Research on the flavor and aroma genetic diversity of Chinese plum based on electronic nose and
tongue identification [O5.5]
14:25 Fengchao JIANG
The evolutionary analysis of the NBS gene family in the genomes of apricot, plum and peach [O5.6]
14:35 Andrea DE LAS MERCEDES TORRES PUNINA and Afif HEDHLY
S-genotyping and de novo assembly of S-alleles in re-sequenced Japanese plum cultivars [O5.7]
S-locus identification in 96 European apricot cultivars using a synthetic reference sequence of
Parm_S-loci [O5.8]
14:55 David GERIN-JEAN
Implementation of Marker Assisted Selection: new prospective Insights issued from GWAS
approaches for addressing the major traits highlighted by apricot fruit industry [O5.9]
15:05 Juan SALAZAR
Advanced Genetic Mapping integrating Genotype by Sequencing and QTL identification of
phenology and fruit quality traits in Apricot Progenies [O5.10]
15:15 Marie SERRIE
Investigating the multi-disease challenge in apricot through single and multi-environment genome
wide association studies [O5.11]
15:25 Coffee break - Posters
SESSION 6 Breeding and evaluation of cultivars and rootstocks
16:15 Keynote lecture: David RUIZ, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC
Apricot and plum breeding challenges [K6]
17:00 Ted DE JONG
Forty years of prune breeding at UC Davis [O6.1]
17:15 David TRICON
Ideotyping: a new approach already developed for maximizing the impact of the research activities
conducted on apricot in France [O6.2]
17:30 David KARP
Commercial cultivation in California and volatile components of ‘Green Gage’ plum (Prunus
domestica L.) [O6.3]
17:45 Michael NEUMULLER
Breeding for special traits in European plum by intra- and interspecific hybridization [O6.4]
18:00 Ted DE JONG ISHS presentation
Awards, Next meeting choice, Conclusions
18:45 End of day

Friday, April 26
7:30 Departure for day tour
9:30 SEFRA The fruit experimental station Auvergne Rhône-Alpes
11:00 Transfer
11:45 Agricultural high school Lycée Agricole du Valentin
Round table
13:15 Lunch break and transfer
14:45 INRAE UERI Gotheron _ Visit of experimental fields
15:45 Transfer
16:45 Visit of Chateau de Grignan
19 :00 Arrival in Avignon

6
Introduction

Ki
Challenges of tomorrow’s fruit arboriculture and how they apply to plum and
apricot species

Christian Huyghe, Directeur scientifique Agriculture, INRAE

Kii
Apricot and plum market overview, globally, in Europe, and in France

Matthieu Serrurier, Economic Studies Department – CTIFL (Centre Technique Interprofessionnel des Fruits et
Légumes)

The production of plums and apricots represent respectively the fifth and ninth worldwide
production of pome or stone fruits and show an increase compared to ten years ago. Global plum
production reaches 12.3 million tons, with significant levels of concentration in East Asia and Europe,
but also considerable productions on the South American and African continents. It encompasses
several varietal types dedicated to both fresh and processing markets, with outlets ranging from local
markets to large-scale exports. In apricots, global production amounts to 3.7 million tons with a
significant concentration between Southern Asia and the Mediterranean region. Once again,
products are destined for local markets or export, in either fresh or processed form (notably dried).
This presentation will thus provide an overview of the main measurable trends and perspectives for
these crops and their markets worldwide, with a specific focus on the European and French situation.

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Session 1
Orchard management

K1
How to manage the orchard in a changing climate: new opportunities

Davide Neri, Dipartimento di Scienze agrarie, alimentari e ambientali, Università Politecnica delle Marche,
60131 Ancona, Italy

The research for sustainable fruit production is mandatory to face the climate change, the reduction
of biodiversity and soil fertility, to preserve the income of the farmers and to increase ecosystem
services. The negative effects of climate change can be limited by developing innovative strategies,
or adapting traditional techniques, in orchard management such as multipurpose hail netting
systems, active frost protection methods, smart irrigation. The future challenges include the
preservation of cultivated landscapes pursued by improving carbon sequestration, and soil fertility,
reducing the risks of soil erosion and nitrogen leaching with living mulches and organic amendments
for enhancing root growths and absorption efficiency.
Intensive apricot production systems are characterized by increasing planting density, early fruit
bearing, small tree size, high crop loads, short orchard life-span, easy mechanical management and
frequent replanting. The achievement of constant high fruit quality depends on efficient canopy
architecture management from the nursery to the orchard. Innovation in crop-management regimes
need strategies to control plant and root development able to optimize and simplify orchard
management even though drought and temperature are becoming more stressing. The achievement
of these goals requires the active participation of farmers and extension services. Disposable income,
consumer attitudes towards environmentally friendly products and organic ‘low-input’ substitutes,
policy targets, and technological aspects are among the main general driving forces conditioning the
future development of the farming system in Europe. New holistic approaches capable to reconnect
agriculture and food chains with societal needs represent new promising frontiers for fruit
production.

O1.1
Effect of intensity of winter pruning on fruit quality and sensory analysis on
‘French prune’ plum (Prunus domestica L.) for fresh market

L. Contador, Departamento de Producción Agrícola, Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Universidad de Chile,

Santiago, Chile
K. Mesa, Instituto de Ciencias Agroalimentarias, Animales y Ambientales, Universidad de O’Higgins, San
Fernando, Chile

8
C. Cubillos, Instituto de Ciencias Agroalimentarias, Animales y Ambientales, Universidad de O’Higgins, San
Fernando, Chile
A. Albornoz, Instituto de Ciencias Agroalimentarias, Animales y Ambientales, Universidad de O’Higgins, San
Fernando, Chile

In Chile, the French prune plum (Prunus domestica L.) production for the fresh market has increased
considerably. The principal reason has been Chinese demand, mainly due to the high soluble solids
content (SSC) as an organoleptic characteristic. During 2021-2022 season, a trial on the French prune
cultivar in a commercial orchard in Palmilla, O’Higgins region was conducted. The aim was to
determine the effect of two winter pruning intensities (traditional orchard pruning (T0) and high
intensity pruning (T1)) on yield efficiency and fruit quality through consumer sensory analysis by the
“Check All That Apply” (CATA) surveys. In this sense, T1 eliminated 25.9% of structures over T0. At
harvest, productive and yield efficiency parameters were determined, such as crop load, Trunk-Cross
Sectional Area (TCSA), and fruit size, among others. For fruit quality parameters, non-destructive and
destructive measurements were analyzed. Statistical differences were presented for crop load,
production, and fruit size. T1 showed an increase of 13% for fresh weight. The fruit size distribution
showed differences between the pruning treatments. T0 obtained the highest percentage (54%) in
the XL category (30-33 mm in diameter) and the lowest (4%) in the 2J category (36-39 mm), whereas
T1 resulted in 15% and 34%, respectively. Statistical differences were observed in soluble solids
content (SSC) and flesh firmness (FF), with T1 exhibiting higher values of 19% and 592 g/mm
compared to T0 (15% and 495 g/mm, respectively). The CATA survey included appearance, flavor,
and texture. Concerning appearance, fruit subjected to T0 commonly received CATA ratings of "small
size". Furthermore, flavor and texture characteristics showed improvement with T1 treatment,
resulting in a profile described as “tasty” and “very sweet”. The overall evaluation of the samples was
higher from the T1 treatment. T1 reduces the number of fruits on the tree, consequently enhancing
their size, firmness, and SSC. Consumer sensory analysis through CATA surveys enables a more
comprehensive exploration of the specific characteristics of the fruit that contribute to overall liking
and, in this study, demonstrates that T1 enhances fruit quality compared to traditional pruning
methods.

Keywords: Check All That Apply, fruit quality, fresh fruit, crop load, winter pruning, yield efficiency

O1.2
Alternative plant protection strategies in apricot growing from agronomic,
economic and environmental perspectives

Danilo Christen, Agroscope, Research Division Plant-Production Systems, Route des Eterpys 18, 1964 Conthey,
Switzerland; danilo.christen@agroscope.admin.ch
Myriam Emin, Agroscope, Research Division Plant-Production Systems, 1964 Conthey, Switzerland;
myriam.emin@agroscope.admin.ch
Martina Louw-Prevost, Agroscope, Research Division Plants and Plant Products, 8820 Wädenswil, Switzerland;
martina.louw-prevost@agroscope.admin.ch
Elisabeth Lutz, Agroscope, Research Division Plants and Plant Products, 8820 Wädenswil, Switzerland;
elisabeth.lutz@agroscope.admin.ch
Diana Zwahlen, Agriculture Department, Fruit and Vegetable Growing Office, 1951 Sion, Switzerland;
diana.zwahlen@admin.vs.ch
Loredana Storno, IFELV, 1964 Conthey, Switzerland; l.storno@ifelv.ch

One of the challenges facing conventional fruit growing is to reduce the negative impact of plant
protection products, while limiting economic losses. The aim of the Swiss project ArboPhytoRed is to
run new strategies for reducing the use of synthetic plant protection products with particular risk

9
potential by at least 30%, while limiting financial losses to less than 10%. On-farm trials have been set
up in collaboration with apricot growers in Valais (Switzerland) to assess the effectiveness and
feasibility of alternative plant protection strategies. In 38 apricot orchards, pests and diseases were
monitored in reference plots and in alternatively treated plots. The results of the 3-year study
showed that the use of alternative products can pose agronomic problems when pests and diseases
pressure was heavy, particularly with blossom blight, shot hole disease and aphids. Besides, the use
of alternative products required greater precision from the growers in terms of timing and
techniques of application. The economic evaluation carried out in 2022 in apricot orchards revealed a
large reduction of the 1st class fruits and a slight increase in production costs resulting in a lower
financial outcome for alternative strategies. On the contrary, the strategies implemented in the
alternatively treated plots have led to a reduction in the number of phytosanitary interventions and
in the quantity of synthetic active compound applied per hectare. Additionally, according to SYNOPS
analysis, the risk potential for living organisms in surface water was reduced by more than the 30%
target for alternative strategies. Thus, the environmental performance of alternative plant protection
strategies has largely been achieved, but at the expense of agronomic and economic performances.
Therefore, alternative strategies need to be adapted in order to rebalance the various performances.

O1.3
The relationship between canopy light irradiance, crop load and fruit quality
in mature narrow-row planar cordon apricot canopies

Jill Stanley, Plant & Food Research Clyde, 990 Earnscleugh Rd, RD1, Alexandra 9391, New Zealand;
jill.stanley@plantandfood.co.nz
Michelle Schurmann, Plant Food Research, 990 Earnscleugh Rd, RD 1, Alexandra 9391, New Zealand;
Michelle.Schurmann@plantandfood.co.nz
Lisa Keene, Plant Food Research, 990 Earnscleugh Rd, RD 1, Alexandra 9391, New Zealand;
Lisa.Keene@plantandfood.co.nz
Claire Scofield, Plant Food Research, RD 1, 9391 Alexandra, New Zealand; Claire.Scofield@plantandfood.co.nz
Ben van Hooijdonk, Plant Food Research, Private Bag 1401, Havelock North 4157, New Zealand;
ben.vanhooijdonk@plantandfood.co.nz
Ken Breen, Plant Food Research, Private Bag 1401, Havelock North 4157, New Zealand;
Ken.Breen@plantandfood.co.nz

New Zealand apricot growers face increasing costs of production and labour shortages. A new
growing system has been developed with potential to increase productivity, labour use efficiency and
amenability to automation. This system reduces row spacing to 1.5 or 2 m, with trees being trained
as planar cordons. Planar cordon canopies are established by planting bi-cordon trees 3 m apart
within the row and developing six upright fruiting stems on each cordon. The hypothesis was that
light interception at an orchard level is increased by reducing row width, whilst good within-canopy
light irradiance is achieved in the two-dimensional canopies. We anticipated that simultaneously
improving light interception and within-canopy irradiance would result in high productivity and fruit
quality uniformity. Observations so far suggest this has been achieved, albeit with a slight reduction
in light, yield and fruit quality in the lower positions of the canopy. However, we have not yet
measured within-canopy light irradiance or fruit yield and quality within different canopy positions.
In this trial, 8-year-old planar cordon trees of apricot cultivars ‘Nzsummer3’ and ‘Nzsummer92’ on
‘Golden Queen’ rootstocks were hand-thinned in October 2023. Trees were either thinned to singles
that were spaced at least 8 cm apart or thinned to doubles spaced at least 5 cm apart, to obtain a
range of crop loads. Total fruit numbers per tree were determined. Photosynthetically active
radiation was measured in different vertical positions within individual tree canopies over 24-hour
periods in January 2024, averaging instantaneous readings every 10 minutes. Fruit yield and quality

10
in different positions within the trees will be measured at harvest. A non-replicated comparison with
centre leader apricot trees in an adjacent plot will be made. We discuss the implications of crop load
and light distribution within the canopy on fruit quality and productivity in this new growing system.

O1.4
Effect of different auxin materials on growth and maturity of 'French’ plum
(P. domestica L.)

Karen Mesa, Ruta I-50 sn, San Fernando, Chile; karen.mesa@uoh.cl

Catalina Pinto, Ruta I-50 sn, San Fernando, San Fernando, Chile; catalina.pinto@uoh.cl
Nicolas Romero, Ruta I-50 sn, San Fernando, San Fernando, Chile; nicolas.romero@pregrado.uoh.cl
Andrea Albornoz, Ruta I-50 sn, San Fernando, San Fernando, Chile; andrea.albornoz@uoh.cl
Gabino Reginato, Avenida Santa Rosa 11.315, La Pintana, Santiago, Chile; greginat@uchile.cl

For Chilean growers, achieving a higher fruit size of 'French' plum is crucial for exporting fresh fruit.
This challenge prompted the search for effective management practices to improve fruit size and the
yield, that ensure profitability without compromising fruit quality. Then, growth regulators were
considered as a tool to improve fruit production. For that, a trial was conducted during the 2021-
2022 season in Graneros, O'Higgins Region, on 25-year-old 'French' plum trees to determine the
effect of NAA, 2,4-DP, and 3,5,6-TPA sprays on the size and quality of the fruits. Commercial products
containing the auxins were applied at different concentrations and stages during phase I of fruit
growth. Subsequently, fruit growth and maturity in the field were monitored. Concurrently, random
fruit samples were evaluated in the laboratory for growth and maturity parameters until harvest.
Yield, crop load, and yield efficiency were evaluated at harvest. Results revealed a significant effect of
treatments for all fruit growth and maturity parameters. All treatments improved fruit size compared
to the control, but 3,5,6-TPA showed better performance in increasing fruit size of the fruit, resulting
in greater yield efficiency after removing the effect of crop load. Notably, NAA and 2,4-DP exhibited
94 and 90% of the fruit in the categories 27-29.9 mm and 33- 35.9 mm, respectively, even though
3,5,6-TPA showed more heterogeneity obtained higher calibers, showing 100% of the fruit in the
categories over 27-29.9 mm, with 60.8% of them between the category 33- 35,9 mm and larger than
39 mm. 3,5,6-TPA increased all growth parameters during phase III, resulting in fruits weighing
almost 30% more than the control at harvest. However, it exhibited a trade-off with a 15.5%
reduction in flesh firmness (45.1 N) compared to the control and NAA treatment (53.38 N) at harvest.

O1.5
Agrivoltaic systems, an opportunity to mitigate the risk of climatic hazards in
apricot orchards while producing renewable energy

Clementine Jardon, SOLVEO Energies, 3 bis route de Lacourtensourt, 31150 Fenouillet, France;
c.jardon@solveo-energies.com
Marc Saudreau, Université Clermont Auvergne, INRAE PIAF, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France;
marc.saudreau@inrae.fr
Isabelle Grechi, CIRAD, UPR Hortsys, Campus de Baillarguet, 34398 Montpellier, France;
isabelle.grechi@cirad.fr
Frédéric Boudon, UMR AGAP institut, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France;
frederic.boudon@cirad.fr

11
Pierre Guerrier, SOLVEO ENERGIES, 3 bis route de Lacourtensourt, 31300 FENOUILLET, France;
p.guerrier@solveo-energies.com
Frédéric Normand, CIRAD, UPR Hortsys, 97455 Saint-Pierre, La Réunion, France; frederic.normand@cirad.fr

Temperate fruits orchards in the South of France face strong climatic hazards such as late frost during
flowering or fruit set, or high temperature and drought during fruit growth and after harvest.
Agrivoltaic systems modify the micro-environment around the crops, especially irradiation and
temperature, and they can positively mitigate those hazards or negatively affect fruit production
through excessive shading for instance. Dynamic agrivoltaic system (AVD) is a photovoltaic system
with controlled mobile panels that can be used to optimize climatic hazards mitigation. But it
requires AVD steering strategies that are relevant to the biological and environmental needs of the
species cultivated below. These needs may vary between day and night, and over the year according
to the species phenological stages. Results are already available for vineyards, apple, and pear
orchards in Europe, but no result has been published yet for stone fruits. Regarding early apricot
cultivars, AVD could mitigate damages due to late frost, excess of irradiation, drought, and high
temperature. Optimization of panels movements requires a better understanding of the impacts of
dynamic shading on apricot trees production. Here, we address that gap with two experiments in the
South of France (Rivesaltes), one with young trees and the other one with adult trees, including full
sun and different steered AVD modalities. The study aims at i) creating a prediction tool to evaluate
irradiation and canopy temperature under AVD according to site location, date, and structure
characteristics; and ii) assessing the effects of AVD and steering strategies on vegetative growth,
ecophysiological processes and fruit production on young and adult trees. The applied objective is to
define AVD steering strategies to maximize both apricot production and electric production.

O1.6
Calcium supplementation ameliorates salinity stress in apricot trees irrigated
with reclaimed wastewater: a case study on the fragile terraces ecosystem of
Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Northern Oman

Abdullah Al Hosni, 127 macquarie St lucia, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4067, Australia; a.alhosni@uq.net.au
Daryl Joyce, Australia, Brisbane, Australia; daryl.joyce@daf.qld.gov.au
Rashid Al Yahyai, Oman, Muscat, Oman; alyahyai@squ.edu.om
Mal Hunter, Australia, Brisbane, Australia; mhunter@powerup.com.au
Melinda Perkins, Australia, Brisbane, Australia; melperkins4341@gmail.com

The agricultural terraces of Al Jabal Al Akhdar in northern Oman date back millennia. However, it is
collapsing due to critical water stress brought about by climate change and rapid urban
development. Irrigation with reclaimed wastewater (RWW) can be a solution to preserve and
mitigate freshwater demand, but with an attendant risk of salinity. This study examined the
mitigating effects of calcium (Ca2+) on Na+ toxicity and nutrient translocation of apricot (Prunus
armeniaca 'cv. San Castrese') grown in RWW solution along the soil-shoot-fruit continuum.
Significant changes were observed in the soil, vegetative growth, and fruit quality attributes of the
RWW-irrigated trees vs the well water WW-irrigated trees. Although some of these changes may
improve soil health (e.g. rise in total N, Ca2+, K+ and Mg2+ nutrients), other attributes have an
adverse impact on soil health (e.g. total Na+, Cl-, electrical conductivity (EC), and sodium absorption
ratio (SAR). The apricot fruit per se was evidently not a sink for Na+ as it maintained low
concentrations with increasing salinity. This Na+ ion selectivity at the root level resulted in limited
translocation to photosynthesizing leaf tissues and fruit. The fruit uptake pattern of nutrients
followed the order of Ca2+ > K+ > P > Mg2+ > Na+ > Fe > Mn2+. Ca2+ was negatively correlated with
fruit K+ concentration, implying antagonistic interactions. Tree growth; trunk cross-sectional area

12
TCSA, yield components; crop load efficiency (yield/cm2), fruit shelf life, and physiological reaction
(chlorophyll Fv/Fm) all demonstrated a consistent declining trend, indicating a photoinhibitory
response to saline RWW. Overall, Ca2+ application may ameliorate salinity by reducing Na+ in apricot
tissues and soil sodicity.

O1.7
Gas exchange and water relations of Imperial Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.)
cultivar grafted on Marianna and Apricot rootstocks

Lindsay Banda, 205 Nelson Mandela Drive, 9301 Free State Bloemfontein, South Africa;
lindsmuchena101@gmail.com
Phumudzo Charle Tharaga, office 1.220 Agriculture Building, University of the Free State, 205 Nelson Mandela
Drive, 9300 FS Bloemfontein, South Africa; tharagapc@ufs.ac.za
Jerry Dlamini, 205 Nelson Mandela Drive, 9301 Free State Bloemfontein, South Africa; dlaminijc@ufs.ac.za
Nompumelelo Mobe, Stellenbosch, Laco line, Stellenbosch, South Africa; MobeT@csir.co.za
Zanele Ntshidi, Kimberly, Northern Cape Kimberly, South Africa; z.ntshidi@saeon.nrf.ac.za
Tinashe Lindel Dirwai, IMWI, 0083 Gauteng Pretoria, Choose a country; t.dirwai@cgiar.org
Sajid Pareeth, IHE Delft, Institute for Water Education, Delft, Netherlands; s.pareeth@un-ihe.org

Rootstocks reportedly influence the physiological characteristics of the scion, as well as fruit yields
and fruit quality of fruit trees. To maximize fruit yields, fruit quality and potential profits, it is crucial
to determine which rootstocks are essential for sustainable apricot production. The influence of
rootstock on gas exchange parameters, plant water status and fruit quality of apricot trees on two
different rootstocks (Apricot and Marianna) were investigated. A field trial was conducted in a
commercial orchard, in Montagu, Western Cape province during the 2023/2024 growing season.
Parameters that were monitored comprised of net CO2 assimilation rate (A), stomatal conductance
(gs), transpiration rate (E) and plant water status under prevailing microclimatic conditions. After
harvesting on 30/11/2023, fruit yields and fruit quality parameters such as total soluble solids, fruit
diameter, fruit mass were assessed. Significantly higher A, gs and E were recorded in trees on
Marianna rootstock compared to trees on Apricot rootstock on 24/10/2023, with no significant
differences being observed on the other measured days. Although gs was significantly higher in trees
on Marianna, there were no significant differences in plant water status between the two rootstocks
on 24/10/2023. Fruits harvested on trees on Marianna rootstocks had significantly higher total
soluble solids compared to those on Apricot rootstock. Fruit diameter, fruit mass and total yield did
not differ significantly amongst trees on the two rootstocks. Results from this study indicate that
rootstock influences leaf-level gas exchange variables like A, E and gs, thereby influencing water use
efficiency. The selection of a rootstock is an important decision in enhancing fruit production under
various microclimatic conditions.

O1.8
Growing and production of cultivars on rootstock Wangenheim in the Latvian
meteorological conditions

Ilze Gravite, Institute of Horticulture, Latvia Univ. of Agriculture, Graudu Str. 1, LV-3701 Dobele, Latvia;
ilze.gravite@llu.lv
Edite Kaufmane, Graudu iela 1, Cerini, Krimunu pagasts, Dobele, Latvia; edite.kaufmane@lbtu.lv
Monta Krista Jansone, Graudu iela 1, Cerini, Krimunu pagasts, Dobele, Latvia; montakrista98@inbox.lv

13
Evelina Jegorova, Graudu iela 1, Cerini, Krimunu pagasts, Dobele, Latvia; evelinajeg@gmail.com

Dwarf rootstocks make it possible to obtain smaller trees, achieve earlier harvests, experience faster
crop growth, and make more efficient use of agricultural land. In Latvia, the Wangenheim has been
grown relatively rarely so far, due to long winter frost periods, spring thaws, and a relatively short
vegetation period. The Latvian selection cultivars ‘Ance’, ‘Adelyn’, ‘Lotte’, and ‘Sonora’ are included
in the study. The plantation was established in Latvia in the spring of 2016 at the Institute of
Horticulture. The study aimed to determine differences in the growth of cultivars on the
Wangenheim rootstock. Evaluating winter hardiness, only two of the 43 trees planted in the trial died
within eight years. From 2016, growth dynamics were evaluated by measuring trunk cross-sectional
area (TCSA). In 2021, the crown volume was calculated based on crown parameters. Since 2021, yield
per tree, yield per trunk cross-sectional area, and yield per crown volume have been recorded. When
establishing the plantation, the seedlings of the cultivar ‘Sonora’ were stronger, but later, the growth
intensity of the trees was the lowest. For the other cultivars, the trees grew similarly, with no
significant differences in growth intensity in the following years. On average, the largest crown
volume of the cultivars was found for ‘Ance’ at 16.94 m3, and the smallest for ‘Adelyn’ at 12.92 m3.
During the harvest assessment period, thaws and early spring frosts significantly impacted crop
formation. The highest yield over three harvest years for the ‘Adelyn’ was 28.5 kg per tree on
average (the highest yield was 40.6 kg). The yield from TCSA was significantly higher for ‘Ance’ at
0.21 kg cm-2 and for ‘Adelyn’ at 0.18 kg cm-2. The yield per m3 of crown volume was significantly
higher for ‘Adelyn’ at 0.91 kg m-3. After seven years of data, the best results on the Wangenheim
rootstock, even after adverse weather conditions, are seen with the ‘Ance’ and ‘Adelyn’.

Keywords: winter hardiness, growth intensity, compatibility, yield

P1.1
Hazardous element content and consumption risk of apricot grown on
contaminated soil

Anton Yordanov, 12 Mendeleev str, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; aiyordanov@abv.bg

Violina Angelova, 12, Mendeleev bul., Plovdiv, Bulgaria; vileriz@abv.bg
Sava Tabakov, 12, Mendeleev bul., Plovdiv, Bulgaria; sgtabakov@abv.bg
Todor Donkov, 12, Mendeleev bul., Plovdiv, Bulgaria; t_donkov96@abv.bg

In the present study, the concentrations of toxic metals, micro and macroelements in fruits of apricot
cultivar 'Hargrand' grown on different rootstocks and interstocks were studied. The following
rootstocks were used: ‘Myrobalan’ seedling and in vitro propagated ‘GF 677’ and ‘Garnem’. The
cultivars ‘Redhaven’ (Prunus persica) and ‘Stanley’ (Prunus domestica) were used as interstocks. The
concentrations of the elements were determined by Inductively Plasma Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-
OES) after microwave digestion. The experiment was conducted in Brestnik village, situated at a 3.5
km distance from the source of pollution - the Non-Ferrous Metal Works near Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The
average concentration of the elements in the analyzed samples was found to be in the range of 2.82 -
8.54 mg/kg Fe, 1.47-2.20 mg/kg Zn, 1.10-4.12 mg/kg Mn, 0.92-1.63 mg/kg Cu, 3.17-24.12 mg/kg B,
0.02-0.03 mg/kg Se, 224.5 -324.4 mg/kg P, 66.5-250.6 mg/kg Ca, 102.7-166.3 mg/kg Mg, 1123.2-
1313.3 mg/kg K, 57.1-109.2 mg/kg Na, 0.001-0.01 mg/kg Cr, 0.12-0.36 mg/kg kg Ni, 0.003 -0.03
mg/kg Co, 0.67-6.81 mg/kg Al, 0.006-0.02 mg/kg Cd, 0.02-0.05 mg/kg As, 1.02 -2.34 ng/g Hg and
0.03-0.19 mg/kg Pb. The highest concentrations of toxic metals were found in variant
'GF677/Stanley/Hargrand'. The results obtained in this study showed that K, P, Mg, and Ca have the
highest concentrations in all variants. The content of the highly toxic metals (Pb, Cd, and Hg) in the

14
studied fruits was found to be below with the permissible limits set by different health organizations.
Daily intake of metals, hazard quotient, and health risk index were calculated and compared with the
values reported in the literature to reveal the health risk possibility of apricot fruit consumption.

P1.2
Hazardous element content and consumption risk of plum cultivars grown on
contaminated soil

Anton Yordanov, 12 Mendeleev str, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; aiyordanov@abv.bg

Violina Angelova, 12, Mendeleev bul., Plovdiv, Bulgaria; vileriz@abv.bg
Sava Tabakov, 12, Mendeleev bul., Plovdiv, Bulgaria; sgtabakov@abv.bg
Todor Donkov, 12, Mendeleev bul., Plovdiv, Bulgaria; t_donkov96@abv.bg

In the present study, the concentrations of toxic metals, micro, and macroelements in the fruits of
three plum cultivars ('Stanley', 'Jojo' and 'Cacanska lepotica') were determined by Inductively Plasma
Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) after microwave digestion. The experiment was conducted in
Brestnik village, situated at a 3.5 km distance from the source of pollution - the Non-Ferrous Metal
Works near Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The average concentration of the elements in the analyzed samples
were found to be in the range of 1.16-7.69 mg/kg Fe, 0.75-2.34 mg/kg Zn, 0.60-8.03 mg/kg Mn, 0.26-
1.05 mg/kg Cu, 2.60-16.59 mg/kg B, 0.02-0.03 mg/kg Se, 42.7 -230.6 mg/kg P, 51.0-1014.7 mg/kg Ca,
59.6-361.8 mg/kg Mg, 529.3-1363.5 mg/kg K, 26.9-144.4 mg/kg Na, 0.01-0.03 mg/kg Cr, 0.05-0.30
mg/kg Ni, 0.93-11.4 mg/kg Al, 0.01-0.04 mg/kg Cd, 0.004-0.06 mg/kg As, 1.12-4.01 ng/g Hg and 0.03-
0.26 mg/kg Pb. The highest concentrations of toxic metals were found in the fruits of cultivar 'Jojo'.
The results obtained in this study showed that K, Ca Mg, and P have the highest concentrations in all
plum cultivars. The content of the highly toxic metals (Pb, Cd, and Hg) in the studied fruits was below
the permissible limits set by different health organizations. Daily intake of metals, hazard quotient,
and health risk index were calculated to reveal the health risk possibility of plum fruit consumption.

P1.3
Testing a crop risk model for ‘Improved French’ prune in the Mediterranean
climate of California, USA

Franz Niederholzer, University of California Cooperative Ext., 142A Garden Hwy, Yuba City, CA 95991, United
States of America; fjniederholzer@ucanr.edu
Luke Milliron, 5 County Center Dr, Oroville California 95965, United States of America; lkmilliron@ucanr.edu
N.J. Ott, 1754 Walnut St, Red Bluff California 96080, United States of America; njott@ucanr.edu
Katherine Jarvis-Shean, 70 Cottonwood St, CA 95695, Woodland California 95695, United States of America;
kjarvisshean@ucanr.edu
Phoebe Gordon, 145 Tozer St. Suite 103, Madera California 93638, United States of America;
pegordon@ucanr.edu
Richard Buchner, 1754 Walnut St., Red Bluff California 96080, United States of America; rpbuchner@ucanr.edu
Mark Gilles, 23385 Hogsback Rd., Red Bluff California 96080, United States of America; mgilles@sunsweet.com
Ted DeJong, One Shields Ave., 3037 Wickson Hall, University of California, Davis California 95616, United States
of America; tmdejong@ucdavis.edu

Poor bloom weather may coincide with crop failure in ‘Improved French’ prune, the primary cultivar
planted for dried fruit production in California, USA. Empirical studies (2005-2021,
actahort.org/books/1342/1342_46.htm) tracking bloom timing, bloom weather, and fruit set in
commercial orchards showed early bloom (DOY 65-75) correlated with high risk for crop failure under
certain weather conditions. These weather conditions include extended cool (maximum hourly

15
average temp = 13-15oC) weather or erratic (Mediterranean) weather with very warm weather
(maximum hourly average temperatures of 27-29oC) at or 1-2 days after full bloom. Practices that
increased yield in early, irregular bloom conditions include advancing bloom timing with rest
breaking agents or not pruning. No “rescue” practice is currently proven to improve set under poor
bloom conditions. We continue our bloom measurements, here reporting the results from 2022-24
and efforts to improve fruit set under early bloom conditions.

P1.4
Apricot root development in different conservative soil managements

Veronica Giorgi, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy; v.giorgi@staff.univpm.it

Matteo Zucchini, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy; m.zucchini@pm.univpm.it
Davide Neri, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy; d.neri@staff.univpm.it
Marcello Cutuli, CREA OFA, Acireale, Italy; marcello.cutuli@crea.gov.it
Corrado Ciaccia, CREA AA, Roma, Italy; corrado.ciaccia@crea.gov.it
Danilo Ceccarelli, CREA OFA, Roma, Italy; danilo.ceccarelli@crea.gov.it
Enrico Maria Lodolini, Università Politecnica delle Marche, via Brecce Bianche, 10, 60131 Ancona, Italy;
e.m.lodolini@staff.univpm.it

In fruit orchards, weed management with tillage can increase erosion, speed mineralization of the
organic matter, release CO2 in the atmosphere and generally reduce fertility and biodiversity over
time. Conservation agriculture techniques aim to maintain a vegetal soil cover, either with
spontaneous or sown species. The green cover can help the grower to maintain soil health, but
investigation is needed to understand the effect on fruit trees and in particular the effect on root
development. The objective of this experimental work was to evaluate apricot root development and
architecture in response to different soil managements: a) two mowing interventions per year and a
superficial tillage in autumn, b) superficial tillage and seeding of selected herbaceous species in
autumn, and c) two mowing interventions per year. Trial started in the first year of planting. In
October 2017, July 2018, and October 2019, soil samples were collected at 30 cm from the trunk
along the row at two different depths. The roots were washed, separated from the soil, divided in
fibrous (fine absorbing roots) and pioneer (thicker and explorative roots) and total length and weight
were measured. During the three years all the treatments showed an increase in fibrous roots, with a
higher growth for the no-tillage treatment. In all the superficial samples, fibrous roots were more
present than the pioneer roots, especially in the no-tillage treatment. In conclusion, the no-tillage
treatment presented more fibrous roots in the superficial layers and a general higher root
development than the other tilled treatments. The presence of selected herbaceous species allowed
an intermediate response of apricot root growth, indicating a possible reduction of competition

P1.5
The influence of wood age, row orientation, and non-structural
carbohydrates in leaves on the growth and maturation of European plum
fruits in the Central Valley of Chile

Karen Mesa, Miguel Cruchaga 1316, Rancagua, Chile; karen.mesa@uoh.cl

Catalina Pinto, Ruta I-50 sn, San Fernando, San Fernando, Chile; catalina.pinto@uoh.cl
Camila Cubillos, Ruta I-50 sn, San Fernando, San Fernando, Chile; camila.cubillos@uoh.cl
Andrea Albornoz, Ruta I-50 sn, San Fernando, San Fernando, Chile; andrea.albornoz@uoh.cl
Franco Galaz, Ruta I-50 sn, San Fernando, San Fernando, Chile; franco.galaz@pregrado.uoh.cl

16
The European plum tree has a globular growth habit with vigorous, upright shoots carrying a
substantial crop load, resulting in branches with wood sections of different ages. The most vigorous
shoots concentrate in the two-year branch section, producing flowers with high fruiting capacity.
Primary fruiting occurs in spurs, corresponding to small sprouts measuring 2 to 5 centimeters.
However, this crop often bears an excessive fruit load, reducing the leaf/fruit ratio and limiting
carbohydrate availability for fruit growth and soluble solids accumulation during maturity. A study in
a Chimbarongo commercial orchard during the 2022-23 season focused on fifteen-year-old 'D'Agen'
plum trees carried out. The objectives were to evaluate fruit growth and maturity on spurs relative to
the age of the bearing wood (2 and 3 years old) and row orientation (North and South exposure) and
correlate these factors with starch and total soluble sugar concentrations in leaf samples from the
same structures. Significant differences in fruit growth (size and diameter) were observed on some
measurement dates. The treatment with fruits in spurs on 2-year-old wood and northern exposure
(T1) stood out, displaying an 11.3% larger fruit size at harvest (30.15 g) compared to other
treatments (average 27.09 g). Diameter evaluations also revealed a 3% increase for T1. The IAD index
showed variations, with fruits in spurs on 2-year-old wood achieving the highest value (average 1.31),
statistically differing from fruits in spurs on 3-year-old wood with North orientation (1.22 IAD).
Despite variations in maturity parameters, no statistically significant differences were observed.
Starch and total soluble sugar patterns in leaves followed typical trends for other species, peaking at
128 and 102 Days After Full Bloom (DAFB), respectively, with interconversion during the final stage of
fruit growth (phase III). Notably, no associations were found between these concentrations and plum
fruit growth and maturation.

P1.6
Bud, blossom, and early fruit thinning in prune

Natalia Ott, 1754 Walnut Street, Red Bluff, California, 96080, United States of America; njott@ucanr.edu
Becky Wheeler-Dykes, 821 E. South Street, Orland CA 95963, United States of America; bawheeler@ucanr.edu

In California ‘Improved French’ prune production, trunk shaking is commonly used to thin fruit,
regulating cropload and resulting in larger average fruit size. Shaker thinning is typically done at or
after reference date, about a week after pit tip hardening and when the endosperm is visible in 80-
90% of fruit. In some years, the trees set such a heavy crop that this thinning approach is unable to
sufficiently reduce cropload. In such years, it could be beneficial to thin buds prior to bloom or
flowers at bloom, reducing the amount of fruit that must be removed after reference date. This
project was a preliminary look at the effects of shaker thinning of prune buds before bloom, flowers
at bloom, and young fruit before reference date. Trees were shaken at weekly intervals from four
weeks before to five weeks after full bloom. Fruit set, fruit size, and yield of these thinned trees were
compared to unshaken control trees. Shaker thinning had little effect before bloom but increased
average fruit size and decreased green tons per acre in trees shaken after full bloom. Flower and
subsequent fruit counts were done on the unshaken control trees and on the trees shaken at full
bloom; the trees shaken at bloom had significantly higher percent fruit set (45%) than the unshaken
control trees (37%). These data indicate that there may be some promise to early thinning of prune
fruit, and work will be continued in 2024.

P1.7
Remote sensing-based evapotranspiration analysis of apricot trees under
irrigation in South Africa

17
Phumudzo Tharaga, Natural and Agricultural Sciences Faculty, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, Republic of
South Africa; tharagapc@ufs.ac.za
Sajid Pareeth, IHE Delft, Institute for Water Education, Delft, Netherlands; s.pareeth@un-ihe.org
Lindsay Banda, 205 Nelson Mandela Drive, 9301 Free State Bloemfontein, South Africa;
lindsmuchena101@gmail.com
Jerry Dlamini, 205 Nelson Mandela Drive, 9301 Free State Bloemfontein, South Africa; dlaminijc@ufs.ac.za
Tinashe Lindel Dirwai, IMWI, 0083 Gauteng Pretoria, Choose a country; t.dirwai@cgiar.org
Nompumelelo Mobe, Stellenbosch, Laco line, Stellenbosch, South Africa; MobeT@csir.co.za
Zanele Ntshidi, Kimberly, Northern Cape Kimberly, South Africa; z.ntshidi@saeon.nrf.ac.za

Evapotranspiration (ET) mapping through remote sensing offers valuable insights into the water
cycle, agricultural management, and ecosystem dynamics. Several methods utilise satellite and
airborne sensors to estimate ET at various spatial and temporal scales. One widely employed
approach involves utilising thermal infrared (TIR) sensors to capture surface temperatures, as ET is
closely linked to surface energy balance. The Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS) and the Two-
Source Energy Balance (TSEB) models are examples of algorithms that integrate TIR data with
meteorological parameters to estimate ET. In this analysis, we used WaPOR level 2 data at 100m
spatial resolution and at every 10 days interval from 1 September 2023 to 31 December 2023. The
remotely sensed Et was validated based on the ET determined by the Eddy covariance system
installed in the orchard. The analysis was conducted to see the temporal variation of ET and
production over the Baden Apricot orchard Selected for the study with cultivar Palsteyn/Imperial.
The total ETa for four months is estimated to be 319 mm. Total Transpiration and Evaporation
components in ETa are estimated to be 268 mm and 51 mm, respectively. The highest ETa of 4.2
mm/day is reported in the last decade of November 2023. The pattern of ETa shows the initial and
growing stages of Apricots as the season progresses. The contribution of transpiration indicates
increasing apricots with vigorous plant growth and high-water demand.

Keywords: Apricots, Evapotranspiration, Irrigation, Remote Sensing, SEBAL

18
Session 2
Postharvest and Quality of
fresh and processed fruit
K2
Reducing the risk of consumers experiencing poor apricot fruit quality
through orchard and postharvest management

Jill Stanley, Plant & Food Research Clyde, 990 Earnscleugh Rd, RD1, Alexandra 9391, New Zealand;
jill.stanley@plantandfood.co.nz
Claire Scofield, Plant Food Research, 990 Earnscleugh Rd, RD 1, 9391 Alexandra, New Zealand;
Claire.Scofield@plantandfood.co.nz
Michelle Schurmann, Plant Food Research, 990 Earnscleugh Rd, RD 1, 9391 Alexandra, New Zealand;
Michelle.Schurmann@plantandfood.co.nz
Roswitha Schröder, Plant Food Research, 82038203, 1142 Auckland, New Zealand;
Rosie.Schroeder@plantandfood.co.nz

Consumer dissatisfaction with poor apricot fruit quality poses a significant risk to repeat purchases,
highlighting the need for strategic interventions to enhance consumer experience. Understanding
consumer preferences for attributes like fruit sweetness and firmness is crucial for aligning
production with market demands. To reduce the risk of poor consumer experiences, options include
changing cultivars, orchard management, harvest decisions, and postharvest conditions. Cultivar
choice plays a pivotal role in determining fruit quality attributes and storage potential. Some recently
released cultivars produce fruit that exhibit minimal ethylene production, thereby slowing the
softening process and prolonging shelf-life. Orchard management affects fruit quality. For example,
fruit have poorer quality in shaded canopy positions, so reflective mulch or orchard systems that
ensure good light penetration can improve quality uniformity. Harvesting at the correct maturity is
vital for a good eating experience as premature harvesting can lead to underdeveloped flavours and
insufficient sweetness, while delayed harvesting leads to an increased proportion of over-soft fruit.
Non-destructive fruit quality measurements enable precise differentiation of fruit maturity and
quality attributes. Storage conditions, like temperature, storage duration and modified atmosphere,
influence final fruit quality, including susceptibility to chilling injury, such as mealiness, rubberiness,
gel formation and loss of juiciness. Understanding the causes of chilling injury can help reduce the
risk of its occurrence. Cell walls degrade in fruit without chilling injury. These cells break open during
chewing and release the juice within the cells. This normal cell wall degradation process is not
resumed after cold storage in chilling-injured fruit. Treatments that could enable the resumption of
cell wall degradation, such as intermittent warming or different storage temperatures, may reduce
chilling injury. We conclude that cultivar selection, harvest maturity and storage temperature and
duration contribute the most to reducing the risk of poor consumer experience.

19
O2.1
Impact of postharvest ethylene treatment on apricots

Séverine Gabioud Rebeaud, Agroscope, Route des Eterpys 18, 1964 Conthey, Switzerland;
severine.gabioud@agroscope.admin.ch
Coralie Dayer, Route des Eterpys 18, 1964 Conthey, Switzerland; coralie.dayer@agroscope.admin.ch
Pierre-Yves Cotter, Route des Eterpys 18, 1964 Conthey, Switzerland; pierre-yves.cotter@agroscope.admin.ch
Danilo Christen, Route des Eterpys 18, 1964 Conthey, Switzerland; danilo.christen@agroscope.admin.ch

Apricot is a fragile fruit known for its rapid ripening after harvest, which vary considerably depending
on the cultivar. Tree-ripened fruits, generally highly appreciated by consumers for their taste, flavour
and sweetness, are particularly concerned by postharvest losses. Due to their high susceptibility to
mechanical damages and the development of rot that can occur throughout the whole supply chain,
these fruits are generally distributed to local markets shortly after picking. Apricots destined to
longer market distances are commonly harvested at an early stage of maturity and stored at low
temperature. However, the higher firmness, lower sweetness, and greener colour of such fruit,
compared with tree-ripened ones, do often not meet consumers’ expectations. As ethylene is a key
hormone involved in apricot ripening, we evaluated the possibility of treating fruits with ethylene
after cold storage, in order to improve their texture and taste at the point of sale. The influence of
maturity stage was also investigated. The study was conducted on 10 different cultivars, all sorted
into two maturity groups based on their DA-Index, and stored at 1 °C for 7 days. Ethylene was applied
at 1000 μL L-1 during the 2 days of shelf life at 20 °C. This postharvest itinerary was compared with a
storage at 1° and 8 °C followed by 2 days of shelf life without ethylene. The results showed that
ethylene increased apricots softening in both maturity groups. This effect was, however, cultivar-
dependent. Total soluble solids, colour, acidity and weight loss were not strongly impacted by
ethylene treatment nor by temperature of storage. Apricots kept at 8 °C showed nevertheless a
higher percentage of decay compared to those stored at 1 °C and treated with ethylene. These
findings showed that ethylene treatment is effective in enhancing apricots softening. However, the
treatment had no impact on acidity and total soluble solids, crucial factors for the sensory quality and
overall acceptance of the fruit, mainly influenced by the stage of ripeness at harvest.

O2.2
Apricot fruit quality: small changes today lead to big achievements in
consumers’ satisfaction of tomorrow

Irina Baccichet, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133 Milano, Italy; irina.baccichet@unimi.it

Remo Chiozzotto, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133 Milano, Italy; remo.chiozzotto@unimi.it
Alessandro G. Tagliabue, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133 Milano, Italy; alessandro.tagliabue@unimi.it
Cassia da Silva Linge, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133 Milano, Italy; cassia.dasilva@unimi.it
Debora Tura, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133 Milano, Italy; debora.tura@unimi.it
Daniele Bassi, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133 Milano, Italy; daniele.bassi@unimi.it
Marco Cirilli, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133 Milano, Italy; marco.cirilli@unimi.it

A neglected apricot fruit internal quality seems a contributor of its decreased consumption in several
European countries. A big gap exists between consumers’ expectations and marketed apricots, with
taste as the major reason of complaints. Sugars and acids content largely affect the overall
organoleptic pleasantness becoming a driving factor of consumers’ degree of liking. Pomological
characterization revealed that sugars and acids widely vary among more than 150 accessions of
different geographical and/or breeding origin (mostly from Mediterranean basin and North America)

20
and in relation to maturity date. Total soluble solids content greatly predicted the sweetness
perception, although titratable acidity had the greatest impact on the overall sweet-sour taste
balance. A strong positive relationship occurred between the overall acid content and organic acids
pattern both in fruit pulp and skin, with malate and citrate as the most abundant. Notably, only
citrate enhanced the sour taste perception in a group of expert panelists, advancing their content
ratio as a valuable breeding criterion. Genome wide association analysis –carried out using genotypic
data obtained from a customized 25k target SNPs assay- revealed a major locus on chromosome 8 for
the ratio between malate and citrate, with an almost Mendelian inheritance. The observed apricot
diversity emphasizes a fine characterization of the available germplasm to be exploited by breeders.
Furthermore, the elucidation of genetic basis might contribute to implement a DNA-informed
breeding in the ongoing programs toward an improved apricot quality that meets consumers’
demand.

O2.3
Use of a handheld NIR spectrometer for a rapid and non-destructive
determination of apricot internal fruit quality in orchards

Sylvie Bureau, INRAE, UMR SQPOV, Domaine St Paul, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France;
sylvie.bureau@inrae.fr
Alexis Ronjon, Sudexpe, 517 Chemin du Mas dAsport, 30800 Saint-Gilles, France; aronjon@sudexpe.net
Sébastien Lurol, CTIFL, Route de Mollégès, 13210 St-Rémy-de-Provence, France; sebastien.lurol@ctifl.fr
Michel Jost, CTIFL, Route de Mollégès, 13210 St-Rémy-de-Provence, France; michel.jost@ctifl.fr
Barbara Gouble, INRAE, UMR SQPOV, Domaine St Paul, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon, France;
barbara.gouble@inrae.fr
Valérie Gallia, Sudexpe, 517 Chemin du Mas dAsport, 30800 Saint-Gilles, France; vgallia@sudexpe.net

Near infrared spectroscopy, combined with chemometrics, is known as a fast and non-destructive
method for assessing the composition of materials, in particular of fruit (1). The aim of this work was
to evaluate the use of a portable spectrometer in order to test its use to help growers to fine-tune
fruit harvesting date.
Trials were performed for 4 years (2019-2022), on 10-16 varieties of apricot each year. The spectra
were acquired between 310 and 1100 nm, with four NIR tools (F-750, Felix instruments, USA), on 20-
30 fruits per variety with 2 spectra per fruit, in orchards.
The quality traits of interest were soluble solids content (SSC) and titratable acidity (TA), which
illustrated a great variability ranging from 6.2 to 22.6 °Brix for SSC and from 4.5 to 46.8 meq.100-1 g
for TA.
The relationships between spectra wavelengths and quality attributes measured on 1280 fruits were
assessed by applying partial least squares linear regression on data divided randomly into a set of
calibration (854 fruits) and a set of validation (426 fruits), using ChemFlow software
(https://www.chemproject.org/chemhouse_fre/ChemFlow).
Prediction results were R2 of 0.89 and RMSEcv of 0.90°Brix for SSC (729-975 nm, 7 latent variables,
second derivative and SNV pretreatments), and R2 of 0.75 and RMSEcv of 4.43 meq.100-1 g for TA
(711-1038 nm, 12 latent variables, second derivative pretreatment).
Although spectra were acquired with four different tools, the prediction results were very similar to
those obtained with a benchtop spectrometer (2). However, an organization still needs to be found
to deploy this new fruit quality measurement protocol, including spectrometer metrology, models
transfer between tools, models updating over years and new varieties. At the end, the ultimate goal
is to improve fruit quality and meet consumer expectations.

21
O2.4
The physico-chemical signature of apricot reveals a large variability of their
processing ability

Justine Giroud Argoud, 228 route de l'aérodrome, site agroparc, 84914 Avignon, France; justine.giroud-
argoud@inrae.fr
Barbara Gouble, INRAE SQPOV, Avignon, France; barbara.gouble@inrae.fr
Sylvie Bureau, INRAE SQPOV, Avignon, France; sylvie.bureau@inrae.fr
Isabelle Souchon, INRAE SQPOV, Avignon, France; isabelle.souchon@inrae.fr
David Page, INRAE SQPOV, Avignon, France; david.page@inrae.fr

Although apricots can be processed into different products (dried, in syrup, jam, nectar, sauce or ice
cream), only a few examples of specific selection for their processing capacity are available
worldwide, like the high dry matter content of apricots used for fruit drying in Turkey. In France, the
main aim of processing is to valorize the whole fresh fruit production (from 4 to 18 % depending on
the year). In this study, we explore genetic resources through quality traits linked to processing
potential with the idea of assembling them to provide a targeted quality of processed products with
greater genetic variability.
Ten varieties were selected from the INRAE collection (Gotheron, France) to be representative of
most phylogenetic groups of the species, and a few locally adapted varieties. Three kilograms of fruit
were harvested per variety at full maturity and some at the commercial stage in 2022 and 2023. Ten
fruits were characterized for sugar, acid and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) content and color.
The remaining mature fruits were processed into jam or for the commercial ones cut into cylinders
and cooked in syrup. The jams were characterized for color, viscosity and VOCs, and the mechanical
strength of the cylinders was assessed by compression.
For color, the a* value varied from 1.8 to 24.5 for fruits, while it ranged from 0.3 to 7.9 for jam.
Except for extreme values (white apricots), jam color was difficult to predict from the color of fruit.
For texture, jam and cylinders showed varietal differences ranging from simple to double and from 1
to around 12 respectively, and, interestingly, were not correlated. For VOCs, apart from the obvious
reduction in variability between fresh fruit and jam, there was no clear grouping of varieties
according to their composition, either for fresh or for jam.
This work shows that traits linked to apricot processing capacity have a genetic variability that differs
from that of fresh fruit and therefore opens the way to a selection dedicated to its use in processing.

O2.5
Possible improvements for European plum fruit for fresh consumption

Ingunn Ovsthus, Postboks 115, 1431 s, Norway; ingunn.ovsthus@nibio.no

Jorunn Borve, Ullensvangvegen, 1005, 5781 Lofthus, Norway; jorunn.borve@nibio.no

In Norway, plum fruit is sold for fresh consumption in a similar way as sweet cherry for a high price.
Different treatments were tested to ensure high quality at the consumer end. The fruit is normally
picked with a range in ripeness. At packaging grading the fruit in different maturity classes for
intended sale in shorter (ripe+) and longer channels (ripe-) has been partially implemented in the
industry. As a further improvement, application of 1-Metylcyclopropene (1-MCP) was tested on fruit
of the two ripeness categories of two cultivars. After a period of cold storage and simulated shelf life
for two days at 20°C the fruit was tasted by a sensory panel. Fruit quality and fungal decay was
assessed both after cold storage and simulated shelf life. It was clear that taste of less ripe fruit was
associated with firmer fruit, more acidity and greener taste, and more ripe fruit was associated with

22
sweetness, higher colour value, was softer and had a higher taste intensity. The panel found treated
ripe- fruit to have a greener taste and flavour, less juicy and less sweet. In general, quality analysis of
less ripe plum fruit of both cultivars showed that they had higher content of acids, were firmer, and
had less cover colour after storage compared to more ripe fruits. Also, treatment with 1-MCP
impacted firmness, colour, and acidity. However, the treatment effect was different between cultivar
and years. In 2022, the effect of 1-MCP was seen for both ripeness categories of cv. Reeves, but only
for ripe- fruit in 2023. There was no effect of 1-MCP treatments on Mallard in 2022, however, there
was slightly effects of 1-MCP on firmness, acids and cover colour after self-life test for less ripe plum
fruit in 2023. The ripe+ fruit developed 2-10x more fungal fruit decay than less ripe fruit. It was no
effect of 1-MCP on development of fungal fruit decay. Preliminary conclusion was that maturity
grading is more effective than 1-MCP in securing consumer end quality.

O2.6
Integrating agro-climatic characterization, chill requirements determination
and phenological information to assess the adaptability of apricot and
Japanese plum cultivars in a climate change context

Alvaro Delgado Delgado, C. Campus Universitario, 3A, 33300 REGIÓN DE MURCIA Murcia, Spain;
alvaro_1090@hotmail.com
Jose Alberto Egea, CEBAS-CSIC, 30003 REGIÓN DE MURCIA Murcia, Spain; jaegea@cebas.csic.es
David Ruiz, CEBAS-CSIC, 30003 REGIÓN DE MURCIA Murcia, Spain; druiz@cebas.csic.es
Jose Antonio Campoy, CEBAS-CSIC, 30003 REGIÓN DE MURCIA Murcia, Spain; jacampoy@cebas.csic.es
Jesus Lopez Alcolea, CEBAS-CSIC, 30003 REGIÓN DE MURCIA Murcia, Spain; cebasfruit@cebasfruit.com

Spain is one of the main world producers of apricot and Japanese plum with cultivation spanning
diverse climatic areas within the country. The effects of warmer winter temperatures due to climate
change have resulted in reduced chill accumulation, significantly affecting the phenology and
adaptability of commercial varieties. A series of anomalies can occur in temperate fruit trees
cultivated in mild winter regions where the fulfilment of cultivar-specific chill requirements can be
compromised. Some of these symptoms include erratic bud break, bud abortion and ultimately, low
fruit set. To elucidate the adaptation suitability of apricot and Japanese plum cultivars, three key
factors need consideration: i) Characterizing growing regions based on agro-climatic variables,
particularly focusing on chill accumulation and frost risk. ii) Experimental determination of chill and
heat requirements (CR and HR, respectively) of cultivars in locations with varying levels of chill and
heat accumulation (cold/mild versus warm climatic conditions) and iii) the evaluation of the
phenotypic plasticity of the same variety in contrasting environments to understand the impact of
total chill accumulation and temperature dynamics on the percentages of viable flower buds
reaching flowers and the subsequent fruit set. In this work, through a series of trials evaluating the
same cultivars in contrasted climatic locations, it was noted that variability in CR estimates in
successive years was more pronounced in warmer sites. Additionally, insufficient chill accumulation
led to low fruit set in several varieties, indicating a lack of adaptation of these cultivars to warm
areas. In short, one of the main priorities of researchers and stakeholders in the fruit industry should
be to develop accurate tools that can guide the selection of cultivars better suited to prevailing and
future climate conditions.

23
P2.1
The effect of processing conditions on yield and quality of purees and juices
of plums (Prunus domestica, cv. Jubileum)

Kjersti Aaby, Nofima, The Norwegian Food Research Inst., Osloveien 1, 1430 Aas, Norway;
kjersti.aaby@nofima.no

In Norway, plums are mainly used for fresh consume and fruits not having the quality required for
fresh consume are discarded. To process these plums into food products will be good for the
environment and for the economy of the producers. The aim of this study was to obtain knowledge
about the opportunities and challenges of processing plums through testing of different processing
alternatives. Plums, fresh or frozen, were subjected to heat-treatment (50 or 85 °C) or heat-
treatment followed by treatment with pectinolytic enzymes prior to pressing or sieving to obtain
juices or purees. The puree yields were 53 – 95% depending on pre-treatment. The juice yields of
pre-heated and enzymatic-treated plums were 42% and 80%, respectively. The purees made of
plums heated to 50 °C were darker, had less colour saturation and were more yellowish than the
other purees. There was little difference in colour between the purees made from fresh plums and
plums blanched (85 °C) before freezing. The puree made from plums blanched after freezing,
however, had lower colour saturation and a more yellow colour. There was small difference in
lightness and hue of freshly prepared and stored juice, while colour saturation decreased upon
storage. The juice made from plums blanched before freezing had similar anthocyanin content as the
juice made from fresh plums, while juice made from plums heat-treated after freezing had about
20% lower content. After 3 months of storage at room temperature, the anthocyanin content was
approximately the same in all juices and only about 1/3 of the content in freshly prepared juices. In
conclusion, plums must be blanched before further processing to obtain high product yields, and to
preserve anthocyanins and color. The use of processing enzymes (pectinases) was necessary to get
high juice yields.

P2.2
Improving the aroma of plum spirit obtained from small fruits of cv ‘Čačanska
Rodna’

Branko Popovic, Fruit Research Institute, Kralja Petra I 9, 32000 Cacak, Serbia; popovicb@ftn.kg.ac.rs
Olga Mitrovi263, Kralja Petra I9, 32000 268a269ak, Serbia; omitrovic@institut-cacak.org
Aleksandra Kori263anac, Kralja Petra I9, 32000 268a269ak, Serbia; akoricanac@institut-cacak.org
Aleksandar Leposavi263, Kralja Petra I9, 32000 268a269ak, Serbia; aleksandarleposavic@yahoo.com
Darko Jevremovi263, Kralja Petra I9, 32000 268a269ak, Serbia; darkoj@ftn.kg.ac.rs
Ninoslav Niki263evi263, Nemanjina 6, 11080 Beograd, Serbia; ninoslavyug@yahoo.com
Vele Teevi263, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000 Beograd, Serbia; vtesevic@chem.bg.ac.rs

‘Čačanska Rodna’ is very fruitful and has a tendency to overcrop. Therefore, for its successful
growing, pruning is recommended as a mandatory measure. Regardless of the pruning intensity, a
larger or smaller proportion of small fruits ( < 25 g) are always present on the tree. Due to their small
size and inappropriate color, such fruits are not suitable for drying, fresh consumption and freezing.
In Serbia, such small fruits are used for the production of plum spirit. The traditional method of plum
spirit production includes crushing the fruits and spontaneous fermentation of the mash with stones,
followed by double distillation, which results in overexpressed and often unpleasant stone-like
aroma and, in the case of long and inadequate storage of the fermented mash, an acidic taste of
plum spirit too. The aim of the study was to examine whether modifications of traditional plum spirit
production method, which include a shorter storage time of the fermented mash, removal the stones

24
before alcoholic fermentation, pulping of fruits and use of selected yeasts, can improve the smell and
taste of plum spirit obtained from small fruits of cv ‘Čačanska Rodna’. The plum spirits obtained by
six different processing methods, including the traditional one, differed significantly in terms of the
contents of 21 out of the 24 volatile compounds, as well as of sensory ratings. The plum spirit
produced from the mash of crushed stoneless plums, spontaneously fermented and distilled
immediately after finished alcoholic fermentation was evaluated with the highest sensory score,
even higher than the plum spirits obtained by the most commonly used method in modern
distilleries today (spirits from the pulped stoneless plums, fermented with selected yeasts and
distilled immediately after finished fermentation). By choosing adequate processing method,
excellent quality plum spirit can be obtained even from the small fruits of cv ‘Čačanska Rodna’.

P2.3
Effects of light on carotenoid biosynthesis and color formation of apricot
(Prunus armeniaca L.) fruit

Junhuan Zhang, Institute of Forestry & Pomology, Beijing Academy of Agri. & Forestry Sci., Ruiwangfen Jia 12#,
Fragrant Hills, Haidian, Beijing, China; zhang_junhuan@163.com

For apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.), β-carotene mainly contributed to the flesh color and fruit
nutrition. In order to explore the effects of light on carotenoid biosynthesis and color formation in
apricot fruits, two color-contrasted apricot cultivars ‘Jingluohong’ (yellow-fleshed cultivar) and
‘Zaoyu’ (white-fleshed cultivar) were selected as materials, with three development stages including
green fruit with hard kernel (GR); color-turning fruit (CT) and full-ripening fruit (FR). At GR stage,
some fruits had been shading with opaque paper bag and removed until one week before full-
ripening. The carotenoids in the apricot flesh under different treatments were analyzed by UHPLC-
APCI-MS/MS, and a series of crucial enzyme genes involved in β-carotene biosynthesis pathway
including genes psy1, lcy-B, lcy-E, nced5, nced1 and ccd4 were detected by using qRT-PCR analysis.
The results showed that, at FR stage of fruit ripening, the content of carotenoid, carotene, β-
carotene, lycopene and (E/Z)-phytoene in ‘Jingluohong’ (yellow-fleshed cultivar) flesh decreased
significantly after shading. However, once removed the bag used for shading, the contents of total
carotenoids and each carotenoid component increased rapidly, even more higher than that in
unshaded fruits. In corresponding, the gene expressions of psy1 presented the same variation trend.
In contrast with yellow-fleshed cultivar, the contents of total carotenoids and each carotenoid
component especially lycopene content in ‘Zaoyu’ flesh increased significantly after shading, also
higher than that in unshaded fruits and bag-removed fruits. The gene expression level of nced5,
nced1 and ccd4 were significantly higher than those in other treatment fruits. The expression of lcy-E
in unshaded white-flesh cultivar ‘Zaoyu’ was significantly higher than that in other treatments. These
results indicated that the light stimulated the carotenoid synthesis by regulating gene expression in
yellow-fleshed cultivar, whereas shading treatment could increase the carotenoid accumulation in
white-fleshed apricot cultivar. Which lay the fondation for further study on the improvement of fruit
color and nutrition by regulating light conditions in apricot.

P2.4
Fruit quality assessments of organic plums grown in Norway

Mekjell Meland, Nibio Ullensvang, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, N-5781 Lofthus, Norway;
mekjell.meland@nibio.no
Milica Fotiric Aksic, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia; fotiric@agrif.bg.ac.rs

25
The European plum (Prunus domestica L.) is one the most important temperate fruit species,
particularly in Europe and southwest Asia, and it is widely distributed throughout the whole world.
Plums are considered as functional food due to their content of bioactive compounds such as dietary
fiber, sugars, phenolic compounds, and minerals. Organic fruit growing is very popular because
"sustainable intensification" of production promotes the cycling of resources, ecological balance,
improving soil properties, conserving wildlife and natural habitats, reducing pollution, increasing
water efficiency, improving water quality and using environmentally friendly preparations to protect
against pests and diseases. Plum production in Norway is located in the fjord areas in the southwest
and around lakes at east of the country at latitude of 60° north. In most cases, the nutrient content is
modified by genotypes, cultivation techniques and pre-harvest conditions. The aim of this work was
to evaluate the fruit quality of seven plum cultivars grown in Norway, at two different locations
(Ullensvang, Western Norway and Telemark, Eastern Norway) in two consecutive years (2021-22).
The Jubileum cultivar was commercially harvested 5-7 days earlier in Ullensvang, compared to
Telemark, while the Reeves cultivar was harvested 1-2 days earlier in Telemark. The Mallard cultivar
was location-depended, and was harvested in Ullensvang from August 20 to September 1. Regardless
of the cultivars, plums from Telemark had a more intense ground and over color, as well as a higher
fruit weight and firmness, while plums from Ullensvang had a higher diameter, higher acidity, higher
soluble solids content and higher soluble solid-to-acid ratio. Disregarding of locations, the Valor
cultivar had the yellowiest ground color and the most intense overcolor (blue). Excalibur had the
highest fruit weight (78.2 g) and the largest fruit diameter (50.2 mm), while Opal had the smallest
and softest fruits. Excalibur had the highest acidity (1.34%), Mallard the highest soluble solids
(14.69%) and Reeves the highest soluble solids-to-acid ratio cultivar (14.48). All tested cultivars
showed excellent pomological traits and are recommended for organic cultivation in Norway or in
locations with similar agroclimatic conditions.

P2.5
Using the processing capacity of apricot and plum varieties to promote the
development of diversified orchards

David Page, Domaine INRAE - Avignon université - UR408 SQPOV, Site Agroparc, domaine de St Paul, Avignon,
France; david.page@inrae.fr
Justine Giroud-Argoud, INRAE - Avignon université - UR408 SQPOV, Domaine St Paul - site Agroparc, Avignon,
France; justine.giroud-argoud@inrae.fr
Barbara Gouble, INRAE - Avignon université - UR408 SQPOV, Site Agroparc, domaine de St Paul, Avignon,
France; barbara.gouble@inrae.fr
Sylvie Bureau, INRAE - Avignon université - UR408 SQPOV, Domaine St Paul - site Agroparc, Avignon, France;
sylvie.bureau@inrae.fr
Arnaud Dufils, INRAE - Avignon université - UR Ecodev, Domaine St Paul - site Agroparc, Avignon, France;
arnaud.dufils@inrae.fr
Marine Delmas, INRAE Unité Expérimentale Arboricole, CRB Prunus, Bouran, France; marine.delmas@inrae.fr
Sophie-Joy Ondet, Grab, BP 11283, Avignon, France; Sophiejoy.Ondet@grab.fr
Chloé Gaspari, Grab, BP 11283, Avignon, France; chloe.gaspari@grab.fr

For apricots as well as for plums, varieties dedicated to processing are rare (low genetic bases) and
oriented towards a particular product (such as the Dente plum for preparing dried prunes). Apart
from these cases, processing is mainly used to valorize surpluses from fresh fruit production, and the
quality of the raw materials is more often subject to change than controlled by the processing
factories. In its work package dedicated to fruit growing, the DiverAct project studies fruit processing
as a potential lever for promoting the diversity of orchards.
The idea starts from a simple observation: it is possible to assemble plant raw materials with varied
properties to achieve qualitative objectives for the manufactured product. If this principle is widely
adopted in viticulture, it remains little applied for the rest of fruit processing.

26
To follow this idea, the DiverAct (fruit) carries out investigations to :
- measure within collections of varieties whether fruits exhibit variable ability for processing, by
highlighting criteria such as the ability to provide viscous products, or to provide colors or a particular
aromatic signature as well as the more traditional biochemical composition (soluble sugar, acidity…).
- identify, if processing routes differs depending of the factories, at different scales (from dedicated
factories to artisanal plant), and if the type of factories influence the quality of processed products.
- to measure the willingness and limits of producers to implement diversified orchards (containing
differing varieties) to supply processing plants with diverse varieties, and the possibility to create
assemblage to target quality. Therefor participatory approaches and design workshops are
programmed.
Examples applied to apricots and plums harvested in INRAE collection as well as local landraces will
be presented in this poster

P2.6
Postharvest ethylene and NIR spectra to predict apricot storage ability

Barbara Gouble, INRAE - UMR SQPOV, 228 route de l'aérodrome, 84914 Avignon, France;
barbara.gouble@inrae.fr
Jill Stanley, The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Foo, 9391 Alexandra, New Zealand;
Jill.Stanley@plantandfood.co.nz
Jean-Marc Audergon, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; jean-marc.audergon@inrae.fr
Sylvie Bureau, INRAE - UMR SQPOV, Avignon, France; sylvie.bureau@inrae.fr

NIR spectroscopy is effective in predicting some quality parameters of apricot fruit, but spectra have
not been able to characterize climacteric behavior or ethylene production. In France and New
Zealand, ethylene kinetics were carried out during postharvest ripening and/or cold storage to
evaluate NIR spectra capacity to predict postharvest behaviour.
Six apricot cultivars, including three defined as non-climacteric, were monitored for several days at
23 °C after harvest or after 15 days of storage at 7 or 1 °C in 2016, with a repeat in 2017 on two non-
climacteric genotypes. For each cultivar, fruit were sorted according to their firmness. Homogeneous
batches were prepared for each storage condition. Ethylene was measured on individual fruit and
NIR spectra were acquired nondestructively on all fruit at harvest, after cold storage and post-
storage at room temperature.
‘Goldrich’ fruit held at 23 °C straight from harvest produced significantly more ethylene after 5 days
than ‘Orangered® Bhart’ and ‘Bergeron’. Immediately after cold storage, ethylene production
remained minimal but increased in post-storage, especially for ‘Goldrich’. The non-climacteric types
(A4034, A3976 and ’Nzsummer3’) displayed low ethylene production rates as expected, but in some
cases, ethylene production was detected for a short period, especially just out of cold storage.
Functional Differential Analysis (FDA) on NIR spectra highlighted differences between genotypes
according to their ethylene pathways, with less-separate groups for storage time for high-ethylene
producers.
This work confirms our previous work on postharvest ethylene typology, specifically for “non-
climacteric” genotypes, which ripen slowly without measurable ethylene but are able to produce
some ethylene after cold storage or stress (such as Drosophila suzukii bites). NIR could be a useful
tool in breeding and selection evaluations for discriminating the postharvest capacity of apricots but
more analysis is necessary to confirm this. Commercial use for separating fruit within a cultivar for
storage life would be an aspirational goal.

27
Session 3
Pests and diseases control
K3
Metamorphosing epidemiological surveillance into a tool for agroecological
management of fruit tree health

Cindy E. Morris, INRAE, Plant Pathology Research Unit, Montfavet, France

Recently, numerous funding initiatives, especially in France, have been launched to promote
research that expands the scope of surveillance of plant health beyond the strict monitoring of pests.
The goal of these initiatives is to develop indicators that are “actionable” in the context of preventive
management practices. The BEYOND project (https://beyond.paca.hub.INRAE.fr/) is one example
where the objective is to expand the scope of plant health surveillance in order to widen the window
of time and space in which actions to reduce the risk of disease or damage can be implemented. The
environmental variables currently monitored as indicators in surveillance typically include abiotic
conditions that are mechanistically relevant to disease epidemiology (i.e., temperature, relative
humidity, leaf wetness, etc.) and traces of specific pathogens (symptoms on local crops, pathogen
propagules in local air, water or planting materials) in the time frame of an epidemic. This facilitates
farm-based management decisions based on data about local phenomena within a given season of
production and often leads to solutions with rapid action such as pesticides. In contrast, agroecology
strives to build and maintain cropping systems that are inherently less prone to losses from pests and
diseases. This approach requires indicators of disease risk compatible with the appropriate space and
time to create or restore agroecological buffers to disease. By considering eight families of indicators
that span a range of proximate and distal space and time scales as well as mechanistically-direct or
indirect processes that contribute to disease vulnerability, we are describing the potential to use
epidemiological surveillance to open the window of opportunity for agroecological practices for a
range of pathosystem. The new indicators we are conceiving are inspired by the plethora of data
available from smart sensors, social networks, digital maps and remotely-sensed imagery that can be
incorporated into epidemiological models and by the multitude of metagenomic data on the
microbiome of plants and soil. The application of this approach to bacterial canker of apricot will be
illustrated.

O3.1
Early monitoring of insect vectors is the cornerstone of ESFY management

Nicolas Sauvion, PHIM, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, IRD, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France

Research carried out in recent years has provided answers to essential questions for a better
understanding of the European stone fruit yellows (ESFY) epidemiology (e.g. vector psyllid species

28
associated with the disease, geographical distribution of the vectors, role of wild versus cultivated
reservoirs as a source of pathogen inoculum, psyllid population dynamics). This work has made it
possible to establish that the use of prophylactic methods is the cornerstone of ESFY control, in the
absence for the moment of other means of containing the disease (e.g. variety resistance). For ESFY,
the main aim of prophylaxis is to prevent the arrival and intra-orchard circulation of infectious
vectors in order to delay or slow down the epidemic dynamic. In France, the implementation of the
prophylaxis against ESFY depends for the most part on surveillance, based on a network of
observations of psyllid flights. The current strategy aims to characterize the epidemic risk on the
basis of the first vectors observed near orchards in wild blackthorn clumps. ESFY management could
be further 'enhanced' if we were better able to anticipate (i.e. much further in advance) the arrival of
psyllids in orchards on the basis of variables measurable in time and space, using a process of
continuous data acquisition and real-time updating of the information acquired. To this end, we
describe work in progress aimed at integrating different layers of information (psyllid population
dynamics, distribution maps of vector species, possible trajectories of psyllid dissemination by air
masses, textual knowledge extracted by text-mining, meteorological data, etc.) to develop a decision-
making tool accessible to fruit growers and other stakeholders.

Keywords: epidemiosurveillance, Cacopsylla pruni, phytoplasma, modeling, tropolink, artificial

intelligence, Natural Language Processing

O3.2
Black knot resistance in plums: A multi-omic approach to address genetic
resistance for an unusual disease

Jayasankar Subramanian, 4890 Victoria Ave N, Vineland Campus - UG, University of Guelph, Vineland Station
ON L0R2E0, Canada; jsubrama@uoguelph.ca
Ranjeet Shinde, 50 Stone road east, Guelph, Canada; rshinde@uoguelph.ca
Chloe Shum, 50 Stone road east, Guelph, Canada; cshum@uoguelph.ca
Walid El Kayal, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon; we21@aub.edu.lb
Darwish Ahmad, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, United States of America; dahmed@vtc.vt.edu
Islam El Sharkawy, Florida Ag and Mech University, Tallahassee, United States of America;
islam.elsharkawy@famu.edu
Murali Mohan Ayyanath, 50 Stone road east, Guelph, Canada; ayyanath@uoguelph.ca
Mukund Shukla, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Canada; mshukla@uoguelph.ca
Praveen Saxena, 50 Stone road east, Guelph, Canada; psaxena@uoguelph.ca

Black knot is a serious cancer of plum. It is caused by a fungus Apiosporina morbosa. Since the
disease takes multiple seasons to develop fully there is no known in vitro assay to check for
resistance. Thus, the existence of genetic resistance is either unavailable or analysed properly. We
used a multi-pronged 'omics' based approach to understand the mechanism of resistance in a
genetically diverse population of Japanese and European plums, which were left to allow BK
infestation to flourish in the orchard. Phytohormone analyses of the black knot disease and
progression suggested that auxin-cytokinins interplay, possibly driven by A. morbosa is vital in
disease progression by hampering the plant defense system. Further, contrary to the conventional
reports, both Salicylic acid and Jasmonic acid levels were elevated in the susceptible genotypes, the
reason for which is being currently investigated. Whole-genome sequencing followed by common
variant analysis in 2 of the resistant and susceptible genotypes resulted in the identification of 52 BK
resistance (R and PRR), and 31 pathogenicity-related (PR) genes with linked functional variants in the
Japanese plum. Further, we also found that chromosomes 1, 4, and 6 had the highest number of R,
PRR, and PR genes, and the variants linked with these genes suggest that they may have a critical role

29
in conferring BK resistance. Metabolomic analyses revealed that 2 anti-microbial compounds are
differentially present in the 2 resistant genotypes tested. Further these 2 compounds were present in
significantly higher level in the resistant genotypes and in vitro analyses showed that these
compounds can inhibit the growth of the fungus, thus validating their involvement in the resistance.
Collectively our results have made significant progress in our understanding black knot in plums and
the possibility of a genetic, metabolomic and hormonomic marker to identify BK resistance is closer.

O3.3
Resistance to sharka in wild apricot (P. armeniaca L.) natural populations

Veronique Decroocq, INRAE, IBVM, UMR BFP, Virologie, BP81, 33883 Villenave d'Ornon, France;
veronique.decroocq@inrae.fr
Stephane Decroocq, INRAE, IBVM, UMR BFP, 33882 Villenave d'Ornon, France; stephane.decroocq@inrae.fr
Quynh Trang Bui, INRAE, IBVM, UMR BFP, 33882 Villenave d'Ornon, France; quynh-trang.bui@inrae.fr
Maud Delattre, INRAE, UR MaIAge 1404, 78352 Jouy-en-Josas, France; maud.delattre@inrae.fr
Estelle Kuhn, INRAE, UR MaIAge 1404, 78352 Jouy-en-Josas, France; estelle.kuhn@inrae.fr
Benjamin Brachi, INRAE, UMR BIOGECO, 33612 Cestas-Pierroton, France; benjamin.brachi@inrae.fr

Plum pox is one of the most detrimental disease affecting fruit trees of the Amygdalae subfamily,
including apricots. It is caused by infection with the plum pox virus (PPV). We have recently shown
that different types of response to viral infection exist in natural populations of wild apricot from
Central Asia, even though the pathogen is absent from this natural ecosystem.
Using high-throughput genomic data and complex, dynamic phenotyping data, we finely
decomposed the virus infection process in a woody host. We now aim at identifying the relevant
variables linked to the different types of response observed and the geographical and genetic origin
of resistant apricot trees, in order to understand the eco-evolutionary mechanisms explaining the
high frequency of this resistance in a context without reciprocal selection. Using interdisciplinary
approaches combining biology, genomics, modeling and statistics, we are characterizing the response
of apricot trees to their pathogen, from the individual to the wild population of origin, in relation to
its natural environment, local adaptation and intrinsic genetic diversity.

O3.4
Black dynamics of microbial communities in apricot species related to the
identified phylogeographic groups

Hedia Bourguiba, Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Immunology and Biotechnology (LR99ES12), Faculty of
Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia
Chahnez Naccache, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Biotechnology (LR01ES05), Faculty of Sciences of Tunis,
University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia
Salwa Zehdi-Azouzi, Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Immunology and Biotechnology (LR99ES12), Faculty of
Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia.
Jean-Marc Audergon, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; jean-marc.audergon@inrae.fr
Maha Mezghani-Khemakhem, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Biotechnology (LR01ES05), Faculty of Sciences of
Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia
.

Specific microbial communities are associated to host plants, influencing their phenotype and fitness.
Despite the rising interest in plant microbiome, the role of microbial communities associated with

30
perennial fruit plants remains overlooked. We present the first study on the apricot (Prunus
armeniaca L.) microbiome that examines questions regarding the composition and the assembly of
microbial communities related to the identified phylogeographic groups in Tunisia. Results revealed
that the composition and structure of the bacterial communities associated with the rhizosphere
vary and are highly dependent on geographical location and mode of propagation of the accessions.
In fact, plant genotype had a significant role in determining the taxonomical and functional
composition of microbial communities. The global core microbiome of apricot rhizosphere was
represented by several beneficial microbial taxa and accounted for a large fraction of the rhizosphere
microbial community. The study sheds light on the interaction of cultivated apricot genotypes with a
variety of microbes and highlights the importance of their applications to increase the sustainability
of fruit crop production.

Keywords: Rhizophere, bacterial communities, Prunus armeniaca L., genetic structure

O3.5
Oman Botanic Garden's advancement of IPM and biological control strategies
for sustainable pest and disease management in apricots: a case study from
the northern biome

Shadia Al Rijeibi, Zakia Al Alawi, Mohamed Al Jabri, Asma Al Jaradi, Abdullah Al Hosni, Khalid Al Farsi
Oman Botanic Garden, P.O.Box: 808, Postal Code: 122, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

The Al Hajar mountainous habitat in Oman is identified as a global biodiversity hotspot, hosting
around 33% of Oman's native species, that mostly located at elevations above 1,500 meters. This
habitat accommodates unique crop species such as apricot and plum, thriving despite Oman's hyper-
arid conditions. However, apricot cultivation faces significant challenges from pest outbreaks
exacerbated by climate change. Therefore, adopting sustainable pest and disease management
practices, particularly biological control methods, has become imperative. This study investigates the
application of biological control techniques within Oman's botanic garden (OBG) biome, focusing on
pest and disease management in fruit cultivation. In a glass enclosure featuring state-of-the-art
technology, apricot trees have been cultivated to replicate the ancient apricot plantation of Al Hajar
mountain range. In conjunction with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies, the efficacy of
various biological control agents, including predators, parasitoids, and pathogens, was assessed
against the identified key pests. Various biological control agents, such as predatory gall midges
(Aphidoletes aphidimyza), lacewings (Chrysoperla carnea), ladybirds (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri),
and predatory mites (Amblyseius swirskii and Amblyseius montdorensis), were effectively utilized to
manage a diverse range of pests. Furthermore, entomopathogenic nematodes, specifically
Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, have demonstrated efficacy in controlling the larvae of black root
weevil. While Copper-based agrochemicals and systemic fungicides have demonstrated efficacy in
the management of soil-borne diseases, leaf spots, rusts, and mildews. These findings contribute to
the advancement of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Biological Control Strategies for
sustainable agriculture practices for OBG, benefiting not only apricot cultivation at OBG but also fruit
production in Oman's northern mountainous region.

31
P3.1
Effect Mechanical flower removal or flower thinning can reduce blossom and
twig blight, caused by Monilinia spp., in apricot trees

Laurent Brun, laurent.brun@inrae.fr

Amandine Fleury, amandine.fleury@inrae.fr
Freddy Combe, freddy.combe@gmail.com
Léo Mongorger, moncorger.leo@orange.fr
Franck Merlin, franck.merlin@inrae.fr

INRAE, UERI Gotheron, 460 chemin de Gotheron, 26320 Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence, FRANCE

Blossom and twig blight, caused by Monilinia spp., is one of the main disease in apricot trees, and
constitutes the main obstacle to the cultivation of organic apricot trees in France. When conditions
are humid, petals can be infected by Monilinia sp, with the mycelium progressing via the peduncle to
reach the twigs and causing a canker there, which can lead to the apical section of the twig drying
out. In this study, two alternative control methods were tested on 5 self-fertile apricot varieties in an
experimental organic orchard. The first method tested consisted of petals removal at the ‘full
flowering’ stage (BBCH stage 65) by the use of a blower (ERO VITIpulse). The second method
evaluated was flower thinning at the ‘sepals open’ stage (BBCH stage 57) using a rotating brush
(Electro’flor). In 2021 for the 5 varieties, the induced petal removal made it possible to reduce the
number of branches dried out by M. laxa by an average of 68% (p < 0.001), for an average reduction
in the number of petals of 63%. In 2022, the induced fall of petals allowed a significant reduction in
the number of branches dried out by M. laxa on three varieties with damage reduction rates of
between 38 and 63% for an average reduction in the number of petals of 59%. In 2022 for the 5
varieties, flower thinning reduced the number of flowers per tree on average by 69%. This allowed a
significant reduction (p < 0.001) in the number of branches dried out by M. laxa by 81% on average.
Flower thinning makes it possible to reduce the fruit load of the trees early, while petal removal
caused by a blower does not affect the fruit load on the trees.

P3.2
Molecular characterization of plum pox virus isolates in apricot in Serbia

Darko Jevremovic, darkoj@ftn.kg.ac.rs

Bojana Vasilijevic, bvasilijevic@institut-cacak.org
Vera Katanic, vkatanic@institut-cacak.org
Branko Popovic, popovicb@ftn.kg.ac.rs
Fruit Research Institute, Kralja Petra I 9, 32000 Cacak, Serbia

Plum pox virus (PPV), a potyvirus from the family Potyviridae, is the most detrimental virus of stone
fruit species, causing Sharka disease. PPV can significantly decrease fruit quality and yield in sensitive
cultivars. It was reported for the first time in Serbia on plums in 1935. Out of the ten identified, only
three major PPV strains are present in Serbia: PPV-M, PPV-D, and PPV-Rec. To explore the occurrence
and presence of PPV strains in apricot in Serbia, field surveys were carried out from 2008 to 2022.
Visual inspections confirmed that a very low percentage of the trees exhibit the leaf symptoms of
Sharka. A total of 282 fresh leaf samples were collected from different locations across the country.
Leaf samples were analyzed by immunocapture - reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction
(IC-RT-PCR) using strain-specific primers targeting two genomic regions (Nter CP and CI). PPV was
confirmed in 86 samples (30.5%). PPV-Rec was the most prevalent strain (52 samples), followed by
PPV-M (21 samples) and PPV-D (19 samples). Mixed infection (PPV-Rec + PPV-D) was confirmed in six

32
samples. Although widely present in plums, PPV was less frequently found in apricots in Serbia. The
presented results confirmed the wide distribution and dominant presence of PPV-Rec isolates in
apricots in Serbia. The genetic diversity of the PPV isolates was evaluated by sequencing a PCR
fragment located in the CterNib-Nter CP and CI coding regions for selected isolates.

P3.3
Mortality of apricot rootstocks and scion cultivars

Edina Mendelné Pászti, Szolnoki út 52., 2700 Pest Cegléd, Hungary; mendelne.paszti.edina@uni-mate.hu
Geza Bujdosó, MATE - Hungarian University for Agriculture, Life Sciences, 2100 Godollo, Pater K. u. 1, Hungary;
resinfru@yahoo.com
Zoltán Szabó, 03014. hrsz, Balatonvilágos, Hungary; zoltan.szabo@fairfruitgroup.com
Akos Mendel, Szolnoki út 52., 2700 Pest Cegléd, Hungary; mendel.akos@uni-mate.hu

The aim of our study is to assess the stability and profitability of apricot production by selecting
rootstock and scion cultivars that are better adapted to climate change. Comparative experiments
have been conducted to gain comprehensive knowledge, including impacts on vegetative and
generative development, viability, and mortality in new plantations. The experiment utilized a
randomized block design, including six rootstocks and 16 apricot scion cultivars, resulting in a total of
960 trees planted at a distance of 3 x 5 meters. The survival rate was expressed as a percentage of
the initially planted trees for each combination. It can be concluded that rootstocks with vigorous
growth, such as 'Montclar(R)' and 'Rootpac(R) R', were better suited to the climatic and soil
conditions of the Hungarian lowlands compared to rootstocks with moderate growth potential, such
as 'Fehér besztercei' and 'Wavit(R)'. The particularly vigorous root growth helped to maintain good
growing conditions.

P3.4
Black Roots of plum rootstocks are relevant matrices for early plum pox virus
detection

Jean-Philippe Renvoisé, ANSES, Plant Health Laboratory, Quarantine unit, 6 rue Aimé Rudel, 63370 Lempdes,
France; jean-philippe.renvoise@anses.fr
Fabien Chambon, ANSES, Plant Health Laboratory, Quarantine Unit, 6 rue Aimé Rudel, 63370 Lempdes, France;
fabien.chambon@hotmail.fr
Erik Stora, ANSES, Plant Health Laboratory, Quarantine Unit, 6 rue Aimé Rudel, 63370 Lempdes, France;
erik.stora@agriculture.gouv.fr
Marie Brevet, PHIM Plant Health Institute, INRAE, Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Campus de
Baillarguet, 34398 Montpellier cedex 05, France; marie.brevet@inrae.fr
Angélique Pion, ANSES, Plant Health Laboratory, Quarantine Unit, 6 rue Aimé Rudel, 63370 Lempdes, France;
angelique.pion@anses.fr
Soraya Garnier, ANSES, Plant Health Laboratory, Quarantine Unit, 6 rue Aimé Rudel, 63370 Lempdes, France;
soraya.garnier@anses.fr
Jean-Emmanuel Gerbault, ANSES, Plant Health Laboratory, Quarantine Unit, 6 rue Aimé Rudel, 63370 Lempdes,
France; jean-emmanuel.gerbault@anses.fr
Lorène Belval, ANSES, Plant Health Laboratory, Quarantine Unit, 6 rue Aimé Rudel, 63370 Lempdes, France;
lorene.belval@anses.fr
Sylvie Dallot, PHIM Plant Health Institute, INRAE, Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Campus de
Baillarguet, 34398 Montpellier cedex 05, France; sylvie.dallot@inrae.fr

33
Sharka disease is caused by plum pox virus (PPV) which can induce latent infections lasting several
months during which the virus is undetectable in the aerial parts of prunus plants. Early detection of
PPV has been shown to be feasible in the roots of latently infected peach seedlings and rootstocks.
The present work aimed to study early PPV detection in prunus roots of newly inoculated plum
rootstocks using an optimized real-time RT-PCR test.
Two years old (Prunus salicina Lindl. x P. cerasifera Ehrh.) x P. spinosa L. ‘Jaspi® Ferley’ and Prunus
cerasifera Ehrh. ‘Myrobalan B’ plants were graft-inoculated with one isolate of PPV-D (2x20
plants/rootstock, in independent experiments) and grown in a containment facility mimicking
seasonal conditions. PPV detection analyses were performed: (i) 3 weeks post-inoculation (wpi)
before winter, on leaves by real-time RT-PCR; (ii) in the late-winter phase before bud break (17 to 18
wpi), on roots using the optimized real-time RT-PCR test; (iii) in the spring phase (22 to 26 wpi), on
leaves by ELISA. For Myrobalan B plants, buds were also sampled at the same time as the roots and
tested by real-time RT-PCR.
Analyses performed in phases (ii) and (iii), either on roots and/or leaves of living inoculated plants
(n=78), evidenced a 100% efficiency in the inoculation procedure. While all living plants tested
negative before winter, PPV was detected in the roots of 97.5 % (39/40) of the Jaspi® Ferley and 87%
(33/38) of the Myrobalan B plants. At the same time, only 8 % (3/38) of the buds sampled tested
positive for PPV. These results demonstrate that roots rather than buds of recently infected plants
could be used for early PPV detection, especially in nurseries.

P3.5
Assessing the role of the mirabelle plum (P. domestica subsp. syriaca) in
sharka epidemics caused by the plum pox virus in northeastern France

Marie Brevet, UMR PHIM, INRAE, Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, 34398 MONTPELLIER Cedex 05,
France; marie.brevet@inrae.fr
Guillaume Roch, CEP INNOVATION, 23 rue Jean Baldassini, 69364 Lyon Cedex 7, France;
guillaume.roch@inrae.fr
Margaux Champagne, FREDON Grand Est, Domaine de Pixerécourt, 54220 Malzeville, France;
margaux.champagne@fredon-grandest.fr
Marion Delame, DRAAF Grand Est, SRAL, 14 rue du Maréchal Juin, 67070 Strasbourg Cedex, France;
marion.delame@agriculture.gouv.fr
Quentin Hoffmann, AREFE, 38 Route d'Étain, 55210 Vigneulles-lès-Hattonchâtel, France;
arefe.hoffmann@orange.fr
Hervé Bentz, VEREXAL, 4 rue Adolphe Mohler, 67210 Obernai, France; verexal.obernai@gmail.com
Patrice Duvivier, UE A2M, INRAE, Domaine Saint-Maurice, 67 allée des Chênes, 84143 Montfavet Cedex,
France; patrice.duvivier@inrae.fr
Sabrina Viret, UR GAFL, INRAE, Domaine Saint Maurice, 67 allée des Chênes, 84143 Montfavet Cedex, France;
sabrina.viret@inrae.fr
Gaël Thébaud, UMR PHIM, INRAE, Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5,
France; gael.thebaud@inrae.fr
Sylvie Dallot, UMR PHIM, INRAE, Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 05,
France; sylvie.dallot@inrae.fr

The Grand Est region is the leading French region for the production of damson (Prunus domestica
subsp. insititia) and mirabelle (Prunus domestica subsp. syriaca) plum. Damson production is
threatened by sharka, caused by the plum pox virus (PPV) spreading in this region, and control
measures based on visual inspection and removal of symptomatic trees are implemented in
orchards. In contrast, only very few symptoms have been reported on mirabelle leaves and fruits.
Therefore, sharka is generally not surveyed on this species, despite the lack of scientific evidence on
the susceptibility of mirabelle to the main PPV strains (M, D and Rec) and on its potential role in
sharka epidemics occurring in the Grand Est region.

34
We combined orchard surveys with experimental assays under controlled conditions to (i) estimate
PPV prevalence in mirabelle orchards and (ii) evaluate the susceptibility of two mirabelle cultivars
(P1725 and P1510) to PPV-M, PPV-D and PPV-Rec isolates after graft- and aphid-inoculation in
comparison with a susceptible damson cultivar (P3066).
PPV presence was assessed by DAS-ELISA in 7102 leaf samples collected from 4481 trees in 53
mirabelle orchards. PPV was detected in 15% of the orchards, but the overall prevalence was very
low (1.7%). The virus was detected mainly in rootstock suckers (2.6%) and occasionally in
asymptomatic mirabelle leaves (0.25%).
Experiments showed that both of the tested mirabelle cultivars were susceptible to the three main
PPV strains regardless of the inoculation method, with typical PPV symptoms on leaves. Key
parameters of the infection cycle (transmission rate to test plants, incubation period, viral load, and
retransmission rates by aphids from PPV-infected plants) showed that the susceptibility of the
mirabelle cultivars is lower than that of the damson cultivar and depends on the PPV strain. Apparent
discrepancies between survey and experimental results are discussed.

P3.6
Divergent bacterial abundance and diversity in the Apricot Seed Wasps
Eurytoma samsonowi (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) revealed by 16S rRNA
Illumina sequencing

Takwa Wannassi, High Agronomic Institute of Chott-Mariem, University of Sousse, 4042 Chott-Mariem, Tunisia;
wntakwa1@gmail.com
Chahnez Naccache, Laboratory of Biochemistry, and Biotechnology LR01ES05, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis,
Tunis, Tunisia; chahneznaccache@yahoo.com
Hedia Bourguiba, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Université de Tunis El Manar, 1002 Tunis, Tunisia;
hediabourguiba@hotmail.com
Brahim Chermiti, High Agronomic Institute of Chott-Mariem, University of Sousse, 4042 Chott-Mariem, Tunisia;
chermiti54@yahoo.fr
Maha Mezghani-Khemakhem, Laboratory of Biochemistry, and Biotechnology LR01ES05, Faculty of Sciences of
Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia; maha.mezghani@fst.utm.tn

Insects host diverse microorganisms capable of influencing sex ratios and manipulating host
reproductive processes. These microorganisms, particularly bacteria, provide essential nutrients and
biological services to their insect hosts, including protection from pathogens. The apricot seed wasp
(ASW), Eurytoma samsonowi, is an invasive wasp associated with apricots, causing significant
damage in Tunisia. The rapid invasion and population surge of this pest attributed to female-biased
sex ratios and thelytokous parthenogenesis, raise questions about the specific bacterial composition
and abundance within the species, especially between genders.
We used high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies on the Illumina MiSeq
platform to analyze and compare the bacterial community composition between adult females and
males of E. samsonowi. The metabarcoding survey yielded a total of 116,640 and 128,114 raw
sequences for females and males, respectively. In terms of taxonomic classification, these sequences
were collectively assigned to 13 phyla, 17 classes, 42 orders, 76 families, and 101 genera. Shannon
and Simpson’s diversity indices showed that ASWs are not evenly distributed. Notably, at the order
level, Enterobacterales dominated in females, while Bacillales were predominant in males.
Variations in the bacterial communities between the sexes were observed, with male adults
displaying a higher abundance compared to females. This research offers a thorough exploration of
the bacterial communities within E. samsonowi across genders, shedding light on their crucial role in
reproductive strategy, sex regulation, and the invasive mechanisms of E. samsonowi.

35
P3.7
Hot water treatment of apricot and plum budwood for the elimination of
European stone fruit yellows phytoplasma and plum pox virus

Yoann Brans, Laboratoire de Virologie et de Biologie Moléculaire, Centre Technique Interprofessionnel des
Fruits et Légumes, Prigonrieux, France; yoann.brans@ctifl.fr
Marine Delmas, INRAE, UE Arboricole, Domaine de la Tour de Rance-Bourran, F-47320 Bourran, France ;
marine.delmas@INRAE.fr
Jean Leonetti, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; jean.leonetti@INRAE.fr
Latour, F., Laboratoire de Virologie et de Biologie Moléculaire, Centre Technique Interprofessionnel des Fruits
et Légumes, Prigonrieux, France
Chabanon-Dutemps, S., Laboratoire de Virologie et de Biologie Moléculaire, Centre Technique
Interprofessionnel des Fruits et Légumes, Prigonrieux, France
Crouzet, M-P.1 Laboratoire de Virologie et de Biologie Moléculaire, Centre Technique Interprofessionnel des
Fruits et Légumes, Prigonrieux, France
Jean-Marc Audergon, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; jean-marc.audergon@inrae.fr

Nurseries and genetic resources centers are facing serious challenges on mastering the overall health
status of propagated material, especially for virus and phytoplasma vectorial diseases. Among these,
Plum pox virus (PPV) and Candidatus Phytoplasma prunorum associated with European stone fruit
yellows have a very high impact, particularly on apricot and Asian plum orchards. The ThermoFruit
project (2019-2021)A assessed the feasibility of hot water treatment - HWT - for the elimination of
different pathogens affecting fruit species. Based on the heat sensitivity of pathogens(1) and HWT
carried out on Vitis(2), the project targeted epidemic pathogens on fruit tree material including PPV
and Ca. P. prunorum(3).
Woody bud sticks from heathy and infected apricots and plums were used with pre- and post-
acclimatization at room temperature. Water dipping was carried with laboratory water bath at
temperatures from 40°C to 60°C and various dipping times ranging from 15 to 180 seconds. Impact of
the treatment on healthy fruit material was evaluated directly on plant tissue and on bud sprouting
for several varieties of apricot and plum. Budwood from PPV and Ca. P. prunorum infected trees
undergo the same protocol, and cuttings or grafted plants were monitored after treatment for at
least one vegetative cycle. The presence of the targeted pathogen was tested either with biological
or laboratory tests.
The recovery rate of the grafted material after treatment showed differences on the heat sensitivity
according to species. Effective time and temperature couples for the elimination of PPV on plum and
apricot material and of Ca. P. prunorum on Asian plum were identified. The experiments conducted
as a proof of concept showed the relevance of these control strategies and need to be completed
before considering the application of the HWT on a larger scale within the professional sector.

A. Hot water thermotherapy to cleanse and protect genetic resources and mother plants from the multiplication of viruses,
phytoplasmas and endogenous bacteria – proof of concept. 2019-2021, CASDAR FRANCE, 53k€
1. Panattoni et al., 2013. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research 2013 11(1), 173-188.
2. Caudwell et al., 1997. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Re-search 3 (1).
3. Buchmann et al., 2016. Revue suisse Viticulture, Arboriculture, Horticulture Vol. 48 (4).

36
Plum session

Oplum.1
The current situation and prospects for plum culture in Romania

Madalina Butac, Research Institute for Fruit Growing, Pitesti, Romania; madalinabutac@yahoo.com
Mihail Coman, Str. Marului, no. 402, 117450 Arges Maracineni, Romania; mihailcoman1@gmail.com
Emil Chitu, Str. Marului, no. 402, 117450 Arges Maracineni, Romania; emilchitu@gmail.com
Catita Plopa, Str. Marului, no. 402, 117450 Arges Maracineni, Romania; catitasarpe@hotmail.com

In Romania, the plum is the major fruit species which covers acreage of 66,730 ha. The plum
production in 2021 was 807,170 tons, Romania holding the 2nd place in the world after China and
the first one in Europe. Although the surface and production are large, the plum culture has certain
problem. One of the biggest problems is determined by Plum Pox virus. Evaluation of the viral status
of Romanian plum orchards (old cultivars) showed that the incidence of infection with PPV was 69%
and in the young orchards (new cultivars with different origins) was 23.5%. Another problem is
caused by climate change. There was a rise in air temperature from 1969 till 2022, during the first
five months of the year, specifically in February, March and April; significant linear relationships show
an advance in timing of phenological stages (days from the 1st January) for the four stages. For plum
trees (‘Tuleu gras’ cv.) in the continental climate of Romania, in the last half century, there was an
advance of the phenological stages of 19 days for stage 51 (bud swelling), 10 days for stage 52 (bud
budburst), 12 days for stage 61 (beginning of flowering), and 8 days for stage 69 (end of flowering).
This advance had serious implications on the damage caused by late frosts. For example, in 2017 low
temperatures (-4.2°C) during the period of young fruit led to the loss of the harvest in percentage of
92% on ‘Stanley’ cv. and 100% on ‘Centenar’ cv. Regarding the plum training systems, the classic
system has been used so far because there are not rootstocks with low vigor. Some of plum
development prospectives in Romania are: to increase acreage plum orchards to 30 – 35% out of the
total area intended to fruit culture; to develop new plum and prune cultivars with resistance to Plum
Pox virus and climate change, with high fruits quality, for fresh consumption and to develop clonally
propagated rootstocks with dwarfing effect on tree vigour.

Oplum.2
Could the plum cultivar ‘Nada’ achieve the global importance seen in earlier
cultivars from the Fruit Research Institute, Čačak

Nebojsa Milosevic, Fruit Research Institute, Cacak, Kralja Petra I9, 32000 Cacak, Serbia; mnebojsa@ftn.kg.ac.rs
Ivana Glisic, Kralja Petra I9, 32000 Cacak, Serbia; iglisic@institut-cacak.org
Milena Djordjevic, Kralja Petra I9, 32000 Cacak, Serbia; mdjordjevic@institut-cacak.org
Sanja Radicevic, Kralja Petra I9, 32000 Cacak, Serbia; sradicevic@institut-cacak.org
Sladjana Maric, Kralja Petra I9, 32000 Cacak, Serbia; smaric@institut-cacak.org
Jelena Tomic, Kralja Petra I9, 32000 Cacak, Serbia; jtomic@institut-cacak.org

The domestic plum (Prunus domestica L.) breeding program at the Fruit Research Institute, Čačak
began in the early 50s, shortly after the establishment of the Institute in 1946. The primary impetus

37
for initiating plum breeding efforts was the rapid decline of the cultivar ʻPožegačaʼ, prevalent in
Serbia during that period, attributed to the emergence of the Sharka virus. The aim was to develop a
new cultivar that would be qualitatively similar to ʻPožegačaʼ while simultaneously exhibiqng
tolerance to this virus. Although a new cultivar closely resembling ʻPožegačaʼ was not achieved,
several cultivars were developed, becoming pivotal in plum production for subsequent decades in
Southeastern and Central European countries. Notably, cultivars such as ʻČačanska Lepoticaʼ,
ʻČačanska Rodnaʼ, ʻČačanska Najboljaʼ and ʻČačanska Ranaʼ became essenqal for establishing new
orchards and were widely employed as parent cultivars in numerous plum breeding programs. In an
attempt to preserve the acquired legacy, despite significantly diminished resources in the 1990s and
early 2000s, the plum breeding efforts persisted. As a result, seven new cultivars were developed,
with the cultivar ʻNadaʼ, which was named and released in 2012, standing out for its disqncqve
characteristics. Subsequently, there was a sustained increase in interest among producers in Serbia
for cultivating this cultivar. During the seven-year period (2017–2023), we compared the cultivar
ʻNadaʼ with ʻČačanska Lepoqcaʼ and ʻStanleyʼ, considered the most important cultivars in Serbia,
focusing on their key productive characteristics. On average, ʻNadaʼ exhibited a larger fruit weight
and superior fruit physical characteristics compared to the control cultivars. Additionally, this cultivar
displayed lower tree vigour, but also the lowest yield among the examined cultivars. Concerning the
chemical properties of the fruit, ʻNadaʼ generally demonstrated intermediate values, typically
surpassing those of ʻČačanska Lepoqcaʼ and falling short of ʻStanleyʼ, as expected due to the
sequence of ripening time of the observed cultivars.

Oplum.3
Efficacy of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in the thinning of
Japanese plums

Antonieta VERDUGO, Av. Kennedy 5735, of. 1601. Las Condes, Santiago, Chile;
antonieta.verdugo@sumitomochemical.com
Steven McArtney, 1910 Innovation Way, Suite 100, Libertyville Illinois 60048, United States of America;
steven.mcartney@valentbiosciences.com
Catalina Atenas, Fundo Santa Paulina, sn, Rengo 2940000, Chile; catenas@cerosario.cl

In stone fruit, fruit load adjustment is a common labor practice to increase fruit size to meet the
needs of export markets. Currently, fruit load is regulated by hand fruit thinning after the first growth
stage, because there is no alternative chemical thinning agent available. A precursor of ethylene, the
1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) as has been tested on stone fruit as a blossom thinner
in different crops, but there is little information on plum. The aim of this trial is to evaluate the
efficacy of ACC applied at different concentrations and application times from flowering to 8-10 mm
fruit on two plum varieties. In both varieties, 336 and 504 mg L-1 were applied at white bud (WB),
full bloom (FB), petal fall (PF) or 8-10 mm fruit size. Two treatments without ACC were included, with
and without hand thinning to compare efficacy on non-thinned and hand thinned trees. At harvest, in
'Black Majesty', application of ACC at either the WB or FB stage reduced fruit load (fruits/m2 PARi),
while application at the 8-10 mm fruit diameter stage was not effective; in 'Candy Stripe', all
treatments decreased fruit load. Over-thinning was observed with the application of 504 mg L-1
applied at FB on 'Black Majesty' and at WB on 'Candy Stripe'. In general, in both varieties, fruit weight
at harvest was dependent on the timing of application, early applications of ACC increased fruit
weight compared to the control with hand thinning with increases of between 12 and 17% on 'Black
Majesty' and between 0.5 and 49% on 'Candy Stripe'. In 'Candy stripe', weight was dependent on the
time of application, with the treatments applied at WB showing the greatest efficacy. Therefore, ACC
is presented as a chemical thinning alternative to be developed in Japanese plum trees.

38
Oplum.4
Thinning efficacy of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in Japanese
plums

Victor Beyá, Av. Santa Rosa 11.315, Santiago, Chile; vbeya@uchile.cl

Antonieta Verdugo, Sumitomo Chemical Chile S.A, AV. KENNEDY 5735 1601, Santiago, Chile;
antonieta.verdugo@sumitomochemical.com
Gabino Reginato, Av. Santa Rosa 11.315, Santiago, Chile; greginat@uchile.cl

Fruit size of Japanese plums is a crucial factor for price of exported fruit from Chile. Crop load
regulation is the most effective practice for improving fruit size. However, hand thinning is intensive
and costly, and no chemical alternatives have been available for growers. The precursor of ethylene,
1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), has been recently tested as a flower or fruitlet thinner
in different fruit crops; but only a few studies have been reported on plum. The aim of this study was
to evaluate the efficacy of ACC as chemical thinner when sprayed at different concentrations (112 to
896 mg L-1) and stages (full bloom up to 8-10 mm fruits). Eighteen trials were conducted across two
seasons in 8 high fruit set cultivars and 8 low fruit set cultivars. Significant thinning effects were
found in all the trials showing a cultivar-rate-timing dependent response, with full bloom being more
sensitive than stages during fruit growth. Sensitivity to ACC varied among cultivars; therefore, the
optimal rate for each cultivar should be determined separately. Overthinning was only observed in
‘Owen T’. In 56% of the trials, we achieved a 30% to 60% fruit thinning by spraying 336 mg/L of ACC
at full bloom, compared with an average hand thinning reduction of 45%. When ACC was applied at
the 8-10 mm fruits diameter stage, only 33% of trials achieved the same range of thinning, resulting
in an average reduction in hand labor of 22%. In general, a double application slightly increased
thinning, with the application at full bloom showing the most thinning effect. When applied twice,
78% of the trials achieved a 30-60% fruit thinning, compared with an average reduction of hand labor
of 47%. In terms of fruit size at harvest, early thinning is correlated with a more pronounced increase
in size; however, some cultivars exhibited sensitivity to ACC, impacting fruit development. Overall, a
7% increase in fruit size was achieved with full bloom sprays, 4% at 8-10 mm fruits and 9% increase
with double sprays. Consequently, fruit size distribution was moved towards better fruit sizes,
showing that ACC is a very promising tool as chemical thinner of Japanese plum.

Oplum.5
In continuous over-the-row harvesting for Prunus domestica in Central Italy

Enrico Maria Lodolini, Università Politecnica delle Marche, via Brecce Bianche, 10, 60131 Ancona, Italy;
e.m.lodolini@staff.univpm.it
Samuele Crescenzi, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy; s.crescenzi@pm.univpm.it
Giorgio Murri, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy; g.murri@staff.univpm.it
Veronica Giorgi, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy; v.giorgi@staff.univpm.it
Davide Neri, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy; d.neri@staff.univpm.it

To date, the lack of labor availability for many agricultural practices is an increasing problem in
Europe and especially in Italy. Moreover, the manual execution for some operations is becoming too
expensive and time-consuming. To solve these problems, implementation of mechanization is
required. Fruit harvesting is one of the most expensive practices requiring a huge amount of labor so
that mechanical harvesting is becoming very common for many fruit crops. The objective of this
study was to evaluate the efficiency of an over-the-row harvesting machine New Holland Braud mod.
VL 6090 on Prunus domestica var. Stanley trained as a continuous row in central Italy. Mechanical
harvesting was compared with manual one on a wall training system with a 4m x 2m planting density

39
in the 3rd year. Some parameters were measured in the field as the harvesting time of the machine
and the manual operator. This includes the harvest efficiency in terms of total fruit collected from
the tree, the loss of fruits that fell on the ground and the external damage on the fruit induced by the
mechanical harvesting. The harvested fruit were also evaluated by the drying processing company
which supplied the percentage of healthy and damaged fruits (waste). The results are very
encouraging, both in terms of harvest time (very short compared to manual one) and final quality of
the harvested fruit. Currently, this study focused on fruit destined for drying, but in the future, the
implementation of optical sensors to select and remove damaged fruit can contribute to the
mechanical harvest of fruit for fresh consumption.

Oplum.6
Mechanical pruning trial after five years in ‘french’ prune in a California
commercial orchard

Luke Milliron, 5 County Center Dr, Oroville, CA 95965, United States of America; lkmilliron@ucanr.edu
Richard Rosecrance, 400 West First Street, Chico California 95929, United States of America;
rrosecrance@csuchico.edu
Becky Wheeler-Dykes, 821 E. South Street, Orland California 95963, United States of America;
bawheeler@ucanr.edu
Franz Niederholzer, 100 Sunrise Boulevard, Suite E, Colusa California 95932, United States of America;
fjniederholzer@ucanr.edu
Clarissa Reyes, 142A Garden Highway, Yuba City California 95991, United States of America;
clareyes@ucanr.edu
Karla Caldera, 400 West First Street, Chico California 95929, United States of America; kcaldera1@csuchico.edu
Natalia James Ott, 1754 Walnut Street, Red Bluff California 96080, United States of America; njott@ucanr.edu

The California prune industry historically relies on hand pruning to thin fruitwood, improve fruit size,
reduce alternate bearing, and control tree size and shape. Both the high cost and limited availability
of skilled labor have increased the interest in mechanical pruning. An experiment was established to
evaluate timing and severity of mechanical hedging compared to a hand pruned control. The severe
mechanical pruning treatment consisted of hedging four sides of the canopy and topping (boxing)
every year and the moderate treatment was hedged two sides of the canopy every year. These
treatments were conducted either in early spring (May) or postharvest (October). After five years,
cumulative yields of marketable dry fruit (size A + B screen) were not significantly different between
treatments, albeit there was a numerical trend of trees subjected to hedging on both sides yielding
numerically more than those subjected to box hedging. In terms of fruit size, in only one of the five
years (2022) was there a significant difference, with a smaller percentage of marketable A and B
screen fruit in the boxed in fall treatment (68%) compared to the hand pruned control (92%). These
findings underscore the robust adaptability of the trees and suggest that the timing and severity of
hedging interventions had a minimal impact on the overall fruit yield and quality. While no significant
yield differences were detected, mechanical boxing and hedging both sides projected yearly $ 887
and 1134 savings (USD ha-1), respectively, compared to costs of hand pruning. Periodic hand pruning
in mechanically hedged trees (for example every four years) may still be beneficial. The long-term
effects of mechanical pruning on disease incidence and orchard longevity still need to be
investigated.

40
Session 4
Biology and Climate Risk
Assessment

K4
Climate change and perennial crops.
Some questions about past and future impacts and adaptation and mitigation
strategies

Inaki Garcia de Cortazar-Atauri, INRAE – AgroClim Unit Director / TEMPO - French National Phenology
Observatories Manager

Climate change is affecting all sectors of human activity (industry, transport, energy production,
construction), and agriculture in particular. Among the various types of agricultural production,
perennial crops (and therefore fruit trees) are at the forefront of these changes. Their perennial
nature means that they are directly affected by climate change over the long term, and this also has
a direct impact on their multi-annual management (particularly at planting time).
Significant impacts on quality and phenology have already been observed for over 50 years, and new
risks have already been assessed for the coming years. Various adaptation levers have been
identified: choice of species and varieties, evolution of production systems and agronomic practices,
management of space,...; in a context where certain resources (water) and inputs (fertilizers and
pesticides) will become increasingly limited. At the same time, arboriculture must also contribute to
the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture, including through carbon storage.
The aim of this presentation is to review the physical basis of climate change, as well as the changes
and impacts already observed around the world (in general), and on agriculture and arboriculture in
particular. We will also summarize the IPCC's main messages on the evolution of future climate
conditions and expected impacts associated. We will also describe the various adaptation and
mitigation levers that could be deployed in this sector. Finally, we will discuss how research can
contribute to meeting all these challenges in the next years.

Keywords: Crop Modelling, Phenology, Climate Change, Indicators

41
O4.1
Historical changes in winter chill and relatedness with apricot bloom and
yield, in Northern Greece

P. Drogoudi1 ELGO-DIMITRA, Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Department of Deciduous
Fruit, Trees, 38 R.R. Station, 59035 Naoussa, Greece;
G. Pantelidis1 ELGO-DIMITRA, Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Department of Deciduous
Fruit Trees, 38 R.R. Station, 59035 Naoussa, Greece;
T. Mavrommatis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Lab of Meteorology and Climatology, Faculty of Geology,
University Campus, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

To quantify the effects of recent climate change on apricot fruit production in Naoussa northern
Greece, this study aimed at determining long-term trends in winter chill in relation with apricot
bloom and yield traits. The results showed that winter chill was reduced by 11%, from a mean of 86
chill portion (CP) during 1969-1989, to a mean of 77 CP in the last five years. There was no change in
the occurrence of frost events during February to April. Yet, a dramatic increase by 38% in the
Growing Degree Hours during the winter months was found, that may also become a challenge for
the apricot growers, leading to elevated risk of damages from usually occurring frosts. In 18 apricot
cultivars varying in chill requirements from 43 to 73 CP, bloom duration was negatively correlated (r=
-0.509) and yield efficiency was positively correlated (r= 0.490) during five years with varying chill
accumulation from 70 to 88 CP. For the first time, an important historical loss in winter chill has been
documented in northern Greece. Moreover, prolonged bloom is a trait related to insufficient chill in
apricot.

O4.2
Exploring pollen development to detect endodormancy breaking and
determine chilling requirements in apricot cultivars

Erica Fadón, Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain; efadon@cita-aragon.es

Tudor I. Gheban, Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain; tigheban@cita-aragon.es
Sara Herrera, Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain; sara_herrera91@hotmail.com
Javier Rodrigo, Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain; jrodrigo@cita-aragon.es

Global warming is disrupting the adaptation of temperate fruit trees to future climatic conditions in
many traditional growing regions. Rising temperatures, especially during the winter, cause phenology
shifts that directly impact the reproductive biology of the trees. Phenomena such as bud abortion
and/or scattered flowering are becoming more frequent due to the inadequate overcoming of
dormancy, resulting from insufficient winter chill exposure. In this context, knowing the agroclimatic
requirements of cultivars is of increasing interest to select appropriate cultivars in the design of a
new orchard. However, the chill requirements remain uncharacterized for many apricot cultivars,
limiting the suitable cultivar selection for a given area. One reason for this lack of information is the
limitations of the traditional methodologies for establishing the endodormancy breakdown, such as
forcing experiments of shoots or statistical approaches, which involve cumbersome experiments or
large phenology datasets of flowering dates. Recently, the triggering of male meiosis has been linked
to chill fulfilment in apricots, providing a new methodology to characterize dormancy phases (endo-
and eco-dormancy). This advancement enables the determination of chill requirements based on a
biomarker. In this study, we characterize the agroclimatic requirements of 10 apricot cultivars. To
achieve this, we analyzed flower buds collected weekly over two winter seasons. We observed the
anthers under the microscope to determine the phases of pollen development. The results showed

42
that chill requirements ranged from 56 chill portions to 89 chill portions. The availability of the
chilling requirements of cultivars enables growers to choose cultivars that are well adapted to the
winter chill conditions in their region.

O4.3
Seasonal pattern of sink/source limited fruit growth in ‘Improved French’
prune

Franz Niederholzer, University of California Cooperative Ext., 142A Garden Hwy, Yuba City, CA 95991, United
States of America; fjniederholzer@ucanr.edu
Luke Milliron, 5 County Center Drive, Oroville California 95965, United States of America; lkmilliron@ucanr.edu
Rebecca Wheeler-Dykes, P.O, Box 697, 821 E. South St., Orland California 95963, United States of America;
bawheeler@ucanr.edu
Richard Rosecrance, PLMS, Room 223, California State University, Chico California 95929-310, United States of
America; rrosecrance@csuchico.edu
Adela Contreras, 70 Cottonwood St., Woodland California 95695, United States of America;
acontreras@ucanr.edu
Evelyn Smith, 1211 SE Bay Blvd., Newport Oregon 97365, United States of America;
evie.smith@oregonstate.edu
Ted DeJong, One Shields Ave., 3037 Wickson Hall, University of California, Davis California 95616, United States
of America; tmdejong@ucdavis.edu

Dry fruit size determines fruit value in processed prune (Prunus domestica) production. Crop value
(average fruit size x total fruit ha-1) in prune orchards in California, USA, is currently managed by
dormant pruning and/or mechanical thinning at reference date; 35-45 days after full bloom.
Knowledge of source/sink limitations in prune fruit growth could inform thinning research seeking to
improve prune crop value. Seasonal patterns of fruit dry weight accumulation were determined
(2021-23) from the same ‘Improved French’ prune trees under each of five thinning timings: none,
bloom, reference date (RD), RD + 1 month, and RD + 2 months. Fruit were thinned aggressively to
eliminate subsequent resource limited growth of remaining fruit. At commercial harvest, fruit from
bloom thinned trees had 30% more dry weight than that from unthinned trees, confirming source-
limited growth of the unthinned tree fruit. In addition, fruit dry weight at commercial harvest
decreased significantly with each postbloom thinning timing, suggesting that sink limitation of fruit
growth as well as resource limitations combined to limit final dry fruit size. Significantly greater
relative growth rate of fruit from bloom thinned compared to unthinned trees indicated source
limited fruit growth in unthinned trees at 2 weeks before reference date and 4-5 weeks prior to
commercial harvest. These results suggest a potential for increased crop value if ‘Improved French’
prunes could be commercially thinned ahead of reference date.

P4.1
Research on microsporogenesis and floral biology in some descendants of the
‘Tuleu gras’ cultivar

Madalina Butac, Research Institute for Fruit Growing, Pitesti, Romania; madalinabutac@yahoo.com
Madalina Militaru, Str. Marului, no. 402, 117450 Arges Maracineni, Romania; madamilitaru77@yahoo.com

43
The plum cultivar ‘Tuleu gras’ belongs to Prunus domestica L. species and it represents a basic
cultivar in the plum germplasm from Romania. This cultivar is male sterile, sterility due to
irregularities during microsporogenesis which promote malformations of male gametes and, finally,
the lack of pollen. The ‘Tuleu gras’ cv. presents high quality fruits and therefore it was widely used as
a mother genitor in the breeding programs, obtaining 21 new cultivars. Among them, six cultivars
(‘Carpatin’, ‘Centenar’, ‘Piteștean’, ‘Roman’, ‘Tita’ and ‘Tuleu timpuriu’) were studied regarding the
meiotic divisions, the floral biology, phenology and their behavior in the pollination process. It has
been concluded that all six cultivars studied are male sterile as well as the mother genitor. The male
sterility of these cultivars is observed from the tetrad stage and is due to the exaggerated
development of the tapetal cells on account of the sporogen tissue. The flowers are small (from
18.60 mm at ‘Centenar’ cv. to 20.73 mm at ‘Roman’ cv.), with anthers yellow – green, atrophied
without pollen and with long stamens (from 9.13 mm at ‘Tuleu gras’ cv. to 13.30 mm at ‘Centenar’
cv.), which is an advantage for cross pollination. Regarding the flowering phenology, it was observed
that the 6 cultivars bloom 1-2 days earlier than the ‘Tuleu gras’ cv. Because these cultivars are sterile
they need pollinators and that is why the effect of some cultivars known as good pollinators
(‘Stanley’, ‘Anna Spath’, ‘Early Rivers’) has been tested. These pollinators had a positive influence
ensuring high percentages of fruits set (more than 25%).

P4.2
Flower bud differentiation and development characteristics comparison of
Armeniaca vulgaris var. meixianensis and Armeniaca sibirica

Meiling Zhang, Ruiwangfen Jia 12, Fragrant Hills, Haidian, Beijing, China; zml.1989.jayou@163.com

Flower bud differentiation is the most critical stage of fruit reproduction and growth, and the process
of flower bud differentiation affects flowering time and fruit yield. Most of Chinese apricot cultivars
are characterized by a high pistil abortion ratio and an early flowering period, which induced a high
susceptibility to the adverse climatic conditions such as low temperature in early spring and late
frost, which lead to low fruit yield and greatly restrict the development of apricot industry. In order
to investigate the anatomical characteristics of the flower bud differentiation and growth of apricot
at different phenological stages, the paraffin sections of early flowering Shanxing (Armeniaca Sibirica)
with haplopetalous flower and the late flowering Shaanmeixing (Armeniaca vulgaris var.
meixianensis) pleiopetalous flower were used as experimental plant material. The characteristics of
floral organ differentiation in the flower bud of Shanxing and Shaanmeixing were observed by optical
microscope. The results showed that in Beijing area, the bud differentiation of Shanxing and
Shaanmeixing began in mid to late July, followed by floral organ differentiation, in order of sepals,
petals, stamens and pistil. The stage of sepal and petal differentiation was from August to
September. From the end of September to the early middle of October, the differentiation of stamen
and pistil began, and the differentiation was basically completed in the middle of October to the late
of November. Then, from the end of November to the middle of February of the following year, the
bud of Shanxing and Shaanmeixing entered the dormant period, and the rapid expansion of flower
buds began to enter the full flowering period in the middle of March. In the process of flower bud
differentiation and development, the differentiation process of early flowering varieties of Shanxing,
especially the development of female and stamen, is earlier and faster than Shaanmeixing, which
may be one of the important reasons for the difference in flowering time. Meanwhile, the
pleiopetalous flower characteristics of Shaanmeixing were determined at the stage of petal
differentiation by morphological observation of flower bud differentiation. These results provide
theoretical reference for the study of apricot blossom regulation to avoid late freezing disaster, and
provide guidance for the improvement measures to ensure the stable yield and high yield of apricot.

44
P4.3
The phenological responses to climate change of some plum cultivars grown
in agroecological conditions of Iasi County

Iuliana Golache, 3 Ion Voda cel Viteaz, 707305 Miroslava, Romania; iulianagolache@yahoo.com
Ionel Perju, 3 Ion Voda cel Viteaz, 707305 MIROSLAVA, Romania; ionel_perju@yahoo.com
Sorina Sirbu, 3 Ion Voda cel Viteaz, 707305 Miroslava, Romania; sorinas66@yahoo.com
Margareta Corneanu, 3 Ion Voda cel Viteaz, 707305 Miroslava, Romania; margaretacorneanu@yahoo.com
Gelu Corneanu, 3 Ion Voda cel Viteaz, 707305 Miroslava, Romania; perju22@gmail.com
Iulia Mineata, 3 Ion Voda cel Viteaz, 707305 Miroslava, Romania; iulia_mineata@yahoo.com
Ionut Vasile Ungureanu, 3 Ion Voda cel Viteaz, 707305 Miroslava, Romania; ungureanu_ionut91@yahoo.ro

The climate variability of the last decades, especially the change in air temperature, have triggered
changes in the phenological dynamics of plants. The purpose of this study was to analyze the
evolution of the phenology of five native plum cultivars ('Carpatin', 'Centenar', 'Dâmbovița', 'Minerva'
and 'Silvia') and one international reference ('Stanley') in the conditions of North-East Romania.
Based on the phenological observations and the climate data recorded in the period 2013-2023, the
number of days, the active thermal balance (°C), growing degree days (GDD) and the phenothermal
index (PTI) of the main phenological stages were determined as follows: from bud swelling (51 BBCH)
to beginning of flowering (61 BBCH), the period of flowering (61 BBCH-69 BBCH), and from the end of
flowering to fruit ripening (69 BBCH -87 BBCH). The results showed that the higher temperature in
the spring determined the advancement of the phenological stages, also reducing the number of
days required for flowering. Thus, for the beginning of flowering, an average accumulation between
190.52 °C ('Minerva') and 221.74 °C ('Dâmbovița') was necessary. The duration of flowering was
between 7.9 days ('Silvia') and 9.7 days ('Dâmbovița'), with GDD values between 44.8 and 54.0. The
longest phenological period between 69 BBCH to 87 BBCH had the 'Stanley' cultivar with an average
of 155 days, and the value of the phenothermal index was 8.94. The obtained results highlighted the
impact of ecological factors on phenology, the evaluated plum varieties can be included in the
assortment recommended for the North-Eastern part of Romania.

P4.4
Multisite determination of agroclimatic requirements of apricot and Japanese
plum cultivars - Adapting Mediterranean Orchards (AdaMedOr – project)

Alvaro Delgado Delgado, CEBAS-CSIC, C. Campus Universitario, 3A, 33300 REGIÓN DE MURCIA Murcia, Spain;
adelgado@cebas.csic.es
David Ruiz, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Murcia, 30003 REGIÓN DE MURCIA Murcia, Spain;
druiz@cebas.csic.es
Eike Luedeling, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; luedeling@uni-bonn.de
Jose Alberto Egea, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Murcia, 30003 REGIÓN DE MURCIA Murcia,
Spain; jaegea@cebas.csic.es
Javier Rodrigo, CITA, Zaragoza, Spain; jrodrigo@cita-aragon.es
Eduardo Fernandez, Pontificia Universidad Católica Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile; eduardo.fernandez.c@pucv.cl
Hajar Mojahid, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; hmojahid@uni-bonn.de
Lars Caspersen, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; lars.caspersen@uni-bonn.de
Mehdi Ben Mimoun, University of Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia; mehdibenmimoun@yahoo.com
Osama Kodad, National School of Agriculture of Meknès, Meknes, Morocco; osama.kodad@yahoo.es
Adnane El Yaacoubi, University Sultan Moulay Slimane, Khenifra, Morocco; ad.elyaacoubi@gmail.com
Mohamed Ghrab, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia; mghrab@gmail.com
Haïfa Benmoussa, University of Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia; benmoussahaifa@gmail.com
Erica Fadón, CITA, Zaragoza, Spain; efadon@cita-aragon.es

45
The Mediterranean region represents the most important area of stone fruit production in the
northern hemisphere. To break dormancy and resume growth in spring, trees require exposure to
chill conditions during a first dormancy stage and subsequent warm conditions during a second
stage. From 2019 to 2023, the AdaMedOr project has pursued three main objectives: i) assess the
current agro-biodiversity of temperate fruit trees in the Mediterranean area; ii) anticipate the future
performance of fruit trees based on state-of-the-art phenology modelling and climate impact
projection approaches; iii) design and disseminate biodiversity portfolios that ensure resilient and
sustainable fruit production. Within the framework of the AdaMedOr project, a collaborative multi-
site experiment was conducted across Zaragoza and Murcia in Spain, as well as in Tunisia and
Morocco to estimate the amount of chill and heat required to break dormancy in two successive
seasons. We selected three apricot cultivars and six Japanese plum cultivars that were available at
least in two of the countries. Endo- and eco- dormancy phases were experimentally delineated
following a standardized protocol for forcing shoots under controlled conditions across all the
consortium partners. The agroclimatic requirements of the Japanese plum cultivars ranged from 27
to 60 Chill Portions (CP) and from 4,537 to 11,430 Growing Degree Hours (GDH). For apricot, chill
requirements were between 27 and 60 CP, and the heat requirements between 4,539 and 11,213
GDH. Despite using a common methodology, the climatic region had a major influence on estimated
agroclimatic requirements, with large variability among locations both in the chill and heat
estimations. Moreover, the study revealed that year-to-year fluctuations also influenced chill and
heat quantification. Despite the limitation of current temperature models in capturing the
adaptation capacity of the cultivars, we consider the project results useful at regional level, where
they may help growers choose suitable cultivars to remain productive under current and future
climate conditions.

P4.5
Optimization of the application of biostimulant products to promote the
breaking of dormancy and phenological evolution in apricot under conditions
of insufficient chill accumulation

Jesús López-Alcolea, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Edif N25, 30100 Murcia Archena, Spain; jlopez-
alcolea@cebas.csic.es
Antonio Moreno, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Ed 25, 30100 Murcia Murcia, Spain;
amoreno@cebas.csic.es
lvaro Delgado, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Ed 25, 30100 Murcia Murcia, Spain; adelgado@cebas.csic.es
Federico Dicenta, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Ed 25, 30100 Murcia Murcia, Spain;
fdicenta@cebas.csic.es
Rufino Carrillo, Dalia, N 16, 30600 Murcia Archena, Spain; rufino@fermonduc.com
José Egea, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Ed 25, 30100 Murcia Murcia, Spain; jegea@cebas.csic.es
David Ruiz, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Ed 25, 30100 Murcia Murcia, Spain; druiz@cebas.csic.es

Cultivation of apricot trees in warm areas is being affected by global warming. This effect of climate
change leads to a decrease of winter chill accumulation, which mainly affects dormancy and bud
break in several Prunus species, causing flowering and vegetative problems and leading to reduced
productivity. To counteract these adverse effects, the use of biostimulant products to break
dormancy is common to promote the breaking of dormancy and phenological evolution under
conditions of insufficient chill accumulation. This work shows the results obtained with the
application of a new biostimulant product called 'Broston + Nitroactive' as a flowering and bud
breaking enhancer. The apricot cultivar 'Cebasred' from CEBAS-CSIC was used as plant material (4-
year-old trees grafted in 'Myrabolan 29C' rootstock), with chilling requirements (CR) of 38 portions.

46
The trials were carried out on a commercial plot located in a warm area of the Murcia region
(Campotejar, Murcia, Spain). The application of this biostimulant through foliar spraying was carried
out at one of three times when different level of chill requirements fulfilment of ‘Cebasred’ (60%,
80% and 100%) had been reached, and compared with control trees without treatments. The results
obtained showed that the application of biostimulant product in apricot trees with a CR fulfilment of
60% (T1) caused a significant drop of undeveloped flower buds and insufficient bud break, reducing
the yield around to 30% of its potential. The application at 80% of CR fulfilment obtained similar
numbers of fruits and final yield as the 100% treatment (T3) and control trees. However T2 was
considered the best treatment as average fruit size was larger than other treatment and an
anticipation of 6 days in the flowering date with a consequence of 3 days of anticipation in
harvesting.

P4.6
Identification of pollen‑part mutations conferring self‑compatibility in
tunisian apricot accessions (Prunus armeniaca L.)

Ayda Boubakri, Université de Tunis El Manar UTM, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis FST, Tunis, Tunisia;
aydaboubakrisvt@gmail.com
Hedia Bourguiba, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Université de Tunis El Manar, 1002 Tunis, Tunisia;
hediabourguiba@hotmail.com
Neila Trifi-Farah, Université de Tunis El Manar UTM, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis FST, Tunis, Tunisia;
neila.trifi@fst.utm.tn
Carlos Romero, Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular, de Plantas IBMCP, Tunis, Tunisia;
cromero@ibmcp.upv.es
Lamia Krichen, Université de Tunis El Manar UTM, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis FST, Tunis, Tunisia;
krichlam@gmail.com

Self-(in)compatibility (SI) is a genetic barrier developed by flowering plants to prevent self-pollination

and promote outcrossing. SI is one of the most important traits in stone fruits breeding and selection,
with particular interest for Prunus species. In this context, our interest focused on apricot where SI
was analyzed over 125 Tunisian apricot accessions focusing on the S-, M-genotypes and self-
pollination test. PCR amplification of the SFB gene and the ParMDO gene mutation insertion were
assessed using specific primers combinations. The self-pollination test and the amplification of the
insertion of the SFB and ParMDO genes allowed us to identify for the first time within the Tunisian
apricot germplasm two different types of pollen-part mutations (PPM) conferring self-compatibility
(the SC and m haplotype). In fact, these data confirmed the self-compatibility of 15 accessions that
present at least one or two self-compatible haplotypes (SC or m-allele or both). The presence of both
SC and its ancestor S8-haplotype in Tunisian apricot germplasm showed strong support to the
previous studies which confirmed that self-compatibility was introduced to North Africa from the
Irano-Caucasian region. In addition, the identification of the self-compatible ParMDO m-haplotype
confirmed prior studies which found evidence of gene flow between Western-European cultivars and
the local North African gene pool.All these results may provide relevant information and were very
useful for apricot breeding and production.

47
Session 5
Genetic Resources, Genetics
and Genomics

K5
Twenty-five years of breeding research in apple: Can the lessons learned be
of inspiration to apricot and plum breeding (research)?

Andrea Patocchi, Fruit Breeding Group, Department of Plant Breeding, Agroscope, Mueller-Thurgau-Strasse 29,
8820 Waedenswil, Switzerland

When thinking of a model crop, apple is not the first to come to mind. However, if the amount of
breeding research that has been performed on apple is compared with that done on other fruits,
apple could be considered a model crop in fruit breeding. In the talk, we will review some of the
milestones reached for this fruit over the last 25 years, as well as the progress of the tools developed
to improve the efficiency of apple breeding. We will start from the evolution of the process of
mapping resistance genes to identify molecular markers that can be used to select genotypes with
pyramided resistance genes. Using the example of the apple scab resistance genes (overview on
VINQUEST), we will then see how the genes to be included in the pyramids can be prioritized. We will
review methodologies that have been tested and established at Agroscope and are currently being
applied to efficiently breed apples with durable resistance, i.e., fast breeding approaches and the
marker assisted selection (MAS) pipeline. To be successful on the market, new apple cultivars must
not only be resistant, but also must have superior fruit and tree qualities. Therefore, the traits
associated with these aspects must also be considered in breeding. As these traits are generally
polygenic, they cannot be efficiently selected applying MAS, but the method of choice is genomic
selection. With the aim of establishing this tool in apple, the Apple REFPOP was generated. The
results and lessons learned from eight years of an intense collaboration will be shared. The final part
of the talk will look at some examples of the application of new breeding techniques in apple, such as
cisgenesis and early flowering.

Keywords: molecular markers, VINQUEST, marker assisted selection (MAS), resistance, juvenility,
genomic selection, fast-track, early flowering, cisgenesis.

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O5.1
Prunus brigantina: the missing link between apricot and plum species ?

Veronique Decroocq, INRAE Centre Nouvelle-Aquitaine Bordeaux, IBVM, UMR BFP, BP81, 33882 Villenave
d'Ornon, France; veronique.decroocq@inrae.fr
Shuo Liu, Liaoning institute of Pomology, Tiedong Street, Xiongyue town, Yingkou, 115009, China;
liushuo028@gmail.com
Ricardo Rodriguez-de-la-vega, IDEEV, Université Paris-Saclay, ESE, 12 Route 128, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France;
ricardo.rodriguez-de-la-vega@universite-paris-saclay.fr
Alexis Groppi, CBIB Université de Bordeaux, 146, rue Léo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux, France; alexis.groppi@u-
bordeaux.fr

The genus Prunus is a monophyletic clade, with, however, conflicting species classifications.
Generally, apricots and plums belong to the same subgenus, also called Prunus (L.) or Prunophora
(Neck.).
Within this subgenus, the Armeniaca section is composed of diploid apricot-like species (2n=16):
Prunus armeniaca (L.) which refers to both cultivated and wild progenitor apricots, P. mume (Siebold)
the flowering apricot, P. brigantina (Vill.) which is the only wild apricot endemic to the French and
Italian Alps, P. sibirica (L.) from Eastern Asia and P. mandshurica, from Mandchouria. On the
contrary, the Prunus section includes species with different ploidy levels: P. domestica (L.), hexaploid,
and P. salicina (Lindl.), diploid, the two most widely cultivated plums but also wild relatives such as P.
spinosa (L.), the tetraploid blackthorn or sloe present from Western Asia to Europe and several
diploid Eurasian plums among which P. cerasifera (Ehrh.), the so-called ‘myrobolan’, ‘myrobalan’ or
‘cherry plum’ in Europe, P. sogdiana (Vassilcz.) in Central Asia and P. cerasifera var. P. divaricata
(Ledeb.) in Caucasia. Others wild diploid plums from the Prunus section are endemic to Europe, like
P. ramburii (Boiss.) in Southern Spanish mountains and P. cocomilia (Ten.) in Southern Europe where
it partially overlaps P. cerasifera distribution. Interestingly, depending on the classification, P.
brigantina is classified either as an Armeniaca or as a sister species of the European Prunus species,
P. ramburii and P. cocomilia.
Based on codominant markers, genome assembly and short-reads sequencing, we provide here
insights into the genetic diversity and population subdivision of wild plum species. We investigate the
relationship between plum, apricot and P. brigantina and finally, we discuss the phylogenetic
classification within the Prunophora subgenus.

We acknowledge support from the ERGA initiative and GENOSCOPE infrastructure for Prunus
brigantina genome assembly.

O5.2
Evolution of genetic diversity patterns of worldwide Prunus armeniaca L.
resources

Hedia Bourguiba, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Université de Tunis El Manar, 1002 Tunis, Tunisia;
hediabourguiba@hotmail.com
Guillaume Roch, CEP Innovation, 23 rue Jean Baldassini, Lyon, France; guillaume.roch@inrae.fr
Rahma Zarkouna, Laboratory of Molecular Genetic, Immunology, and Biotechnology LR99ES12, Faculty of
Sciences of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia; rahma.zarkouna@etudiant-fst.utm.tn
Ivan Scotti, INRAE Centre PACA, UR 629 URFM, Avignon, France; ivan.scotti@inrae.fr
Jean-Marc Audergon, INRAE Centre PACA, UR 1052 GAFL, Domaine St Maurice, 67, allée des chênes, 84143
Montfavet, France; jean-marc.audergon@inrae.fr

49
This study aimed to identify and characterize the evolution of the worldwide genetic diversity and
structure of modern cultivated apricot accessions over time. In this context, more than 1500 apricot
accessions including both modern and traditional accessions with different origins through the world
were characterized using a set of 25 microsatellite markers. Results highlighted that all over the
world, the modern cultivated varieties presented a lower genetic diversity than what was observed
within the traditional varieties. However, it also showed that the improvement programs have
mobilized all of the genetic funds identified within ancestral varieties. In Europe, the first breeding
programs used diversity present locally, by initially mobilizing the Mediterranean varieties then
varieties from the Iranian-Caucasian zone. Then, looking for other characters, the breeding programs
mobilized varieties derived from East Asia and Central Asia as they are considered as the centre of
origin of the species. Knowledge of this diversity will allow selection programs to improve,
particularly in relation to adaptability traits.

O5.3
Following the track of a genetic variation that drastically modifies the
catechin/epicatechin ratio in Japanese plum fruits

Igor Alejandro Pacheco Cruz, El Libano 5524, MACUL 7830490, Chile; igor.pacheco@inta.uchile.cl
Benjamin Battistoni, El Libano 5524, MACUL 7830490, Chile; benjamin.battistoni@ug.uchile.cl
Javiera Ibañez, El Libano 5524, MACUL 7830490, Chile; javiera.ibanez@inta.uchile.cl
Rodrigo Infante, Av. Santa Rosa 11315, La Pintana, Chile; rinfante@uchile.cl
Andrew Allan, 120 Mt Albert Road, Sandringham, New Zealand; andrew.allan@plantandfood.co.nz
Richard Espley, 120 Mt Albert Road, Sandringham, New Zealand; richard.espley@plantandfood.co.nz

Japanese plum fruits contain phenolic compounds from the flavan-3-ol and proanthocyanidin (PA)
family, including (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin. Associated with the bitterness and astringency of
plum fruits, (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin are biosynthesized by the LAR and ANR enzymes,
respectively. Additionally, genes encoding for these enzymes are transcriptionally regulated by
transcription factors (TFs) belonging to the MYB, bHLH and WD40 families, which compose the MBW
complex. Previously, our group studied the phenolic composition of Japanese plum fruits of an F1
progeny from the cross between the cultivars ‘98-99’ and ‘Angeleno’, which showed a higher
concentration of catechin and epicatechin, respectively. We observed that individuals whose
predominant flavan-3-ol was (+)-catechin or (-)-epicatechin segregated 1:1 so we could perform fine
mapping using ~300 individuals from crosses with 'Angeleno' as a parent. A < 1Mb interval containing
two candidate genes possibly involved in flavonoid biosynthesis regulation was defined. However,
none of these candidates was expressed as indicated by RNA-seq experiments, including S1 and S4
fruit developmental stages. In parallel, phylogenetic analysis using flavonoid-related MYBs of
Arabidopsis allowed us to identify ten PsMYBs putatively regulating the PA biosynthesis. Expression
analysis of young and ripe fruit helped us to detect one PsMYB with an expression 10-fold higher in
‘98-99’ than ‘Angeleno’ in S1. The closest homologous of this gene was PpMYB7, previously reported
to regulate the expression of LAR but no ANR in peach. Because of the similarity of this gene with the
PpMYB7, we named it PsMYB700. According to these results, we identified a novel putative element
in PA biosynthesis regulation involved in the flavan-3-ol profile in Japanese plum.

50
O5.4
Research on the flavor and aroma genetic diversity of Chinese plum based on
electronic nose and tongue identification

Zhao Hai-Juan, Liu Wei-Sheng, Liu Ning, Zhang Yu-Ping, Zhang Yu-Jun, Xu Ming, Zhang Qiu-Ping, Ma Xiao-Xue,
Liu Jia-Cheng, Wang Bi-Jun, Liu Shuo
Liaoning Institute of Pomology, Xiongyue, Yingkou City, China

Plum is one of the most widely distributed fruit trees in the world, and China is one of the most
important plum fruit producing countries in the world. Chinese plum (Prunus salicina L.) originated in
China and is also an important traditional fruit in our country with a high level of genetic diversity.
Chinese plums are beautiful, fragrant, juicy, and nutritious. The skin of plum fruits is rich in
substances such as anthocyanins, which can enhance the body's anti-mutation response. In recent
years, they have gradually become one of the favored functional fruits by people. For growers,
sellers, and consumers, the sensory characteristics of plum fruits are directly related to the
perception and satisfaction of plum fruits. Therefore, digitizing, standardizing, and high-throughput
precise identification and evaluation of the aroma and taste sensory characteristics of fruits can
compensate for the shortcomings of descriptive evaluations.
In this study, electronic nose sensors were used to detect the types of aromas, and an electronic
tongue was used to accurately identify and evaluate nine taste characteristics (including umami,
salty, sour, bitter, astringent, sweet, bitter aftertaste, astringent aftertaste, and richness). The study
analyzed the compositional diversity of 100 different aroma groups of Chinese plums, clarified the
aroma components represented by each group, and found that the response value of W1W was the
highest in the overall aroma distribution, followed by the response values of W1S and W5S. The
more intense the aroma of Chinese plums, the higher the response value of W1W. The taste
characteristics of Chinese plums were found to be classified into sour-astringent type, salty-sour
type, and fresh-sweet type. A series of excellent taste performance and unique germplasm materials
were selected.
The evaluation of electronic nose and electronic tongue achieved efficient, rapid, non-destructive
detection and classification of plum germplasm resources. This study comprehensively understood
the genetic diversity of Chinese plum germplasm resources, provided a basis for a deeper
understanding of the aroma and taste components of plum fruits, offered a feasible phenotype
detection strategy, and selected unique germplasm materials with genetic genes that will become
the "Seed Industry Genechip" in plum breeding activities in China, providing a theoretical basis for
breeding work.

Keywords: plum taste analysis, electronic tongue instrument, taste attributes, taste profiles

O5.5
The evolutionary analysis of the NBS gene family in the genomes of apricot,
plum and peach

Fengchao Jiang, Jia 12, Ruiwangfe, Xiangshan, Haidian, Beijing, China; jiangfc2018@163.com

NBS-LRR (nucleotide binding site-leucine-rich repeat) represents the gene family boasting the highest
number of disease resistance genes in plants and stands as one of the most extensive gene families
in plant genomes. To investigate NBS-LRR genes in apricot, plum, and peach, hidden Markov models
(PF00931, PF01582) sourced from Pfam were employed to identify disease-resistance-associated
(DRA) genes in the genome. The results indicate that 244 DRA genes in apricot, 185 in plum, and 222

51
in peach, indicating a reduction of DRA genes in the plum genome during evolution. Both apricot and
peach genomes exhibited a greater number of DRA genes compared to plum, and the concentration
of DRA genes of Chr1, Chr2, and Chr8 exhibited the higher than other chromosomes. The DRA genes
of apricot, plum, and peach are primarily classified into two types: CNL (CC-NB-LRR) and NL (TIR-NB-
LRR), with the CNL type predominating over the NL type. The analysis of cis-regulatory elements
indicates a significant proportion of these elements are related to hormone regulation. Motif analysis
results reveal that the motifs in apricot, plum, and peach are generally consistent. In summary, the
differences in DRA genes among apricot, plum, and peach mainly manifest in their quantity,
potentially serving as a primary factor contributing to variations in their environmental resistance.
The findings of this study provide theoretical guidance for the disease-resistant breeding of apricot,
plum, and peach.

O5.6
S-genotyping and de novo assembly of S-alleles in re-sequenced Japanese
plum cultivars

Andrea de las Mercedes Torres Punina, CITA, Avda. de Montañana, 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain;
adlmtorres@cita-aragon.es
María Engracia Guerra Velo, CICYTEX, Area de Fruticultura Mediterránea, Instituto de Investigaciones Agrarias,
06187 Badajoz A-5, km 372 Guadajira, Spain; mariaengracia.guerra@juntaex.es
Javier Rodrigo García, CITA, Avda. de Montañana, 930, 50059 Zaragoza Zaragoza, Spain; jrodrigo@cita-
aragon.es
Afif Hedhly, CITA, Avda. de Montañana, 930, 50059 Zaragoza Zaragoza, Spain; ahedhli@cita-aragon.es

Japanese plum (hybrids of Prunus salicina Lindl.), like other species of the Prunus genus, has a
gametophytic incompatibility system that prevents self-fertilization and promotes cross-pollination.
This system is regulated by the multiallelic S locus, formed by two closely linked genes, one
expressed in the pistil (S-RNase) and the other in the pollen (SFB). The identification of both S alleles
of each cultivar is essential to establish its pollination needs, as well as its suitability as a parent in
breeding program. To date, 57 S alleles have been described (42 S-RNase and 15 SFB), which has
allowed the assignment of more than 200 cultivars to 26 incompatibility groups. However, the
identification of the S genotype has not been possible in a number of cultivars, mainly because some
S alleles have not been previously sequenced. In this work, we re-sequenced the genome of nine
Japanese plum cultivars (Ambra, Methley, Laettitia, Sapphire, Ruby Star, Ebony 51, John W, African
Rose, Joanna Red), filtered out non-S locus reads using a purpose-built Prunus S-loci database, and
either genotyped the S locus -via alignment to a P. salicina S loci synthetic reference sequence- or de
novo assembled all S-RNase and SFB genes. The workflow proved to be robust to accurately
determine the S genotype of the nine analyzed cultivars, identifying 2 new S alleles. In addition,
results herein allowed confirming 14 of the 16 S alleles that were previously identified by PCR
analysis. This procedure allowed to accurately identify the S alleles, facilitating the grouping of
cultivars into the corresponding incompatibility group, a necessary knowledge for an efficient
selection of pollinator cultivars in plum orchards.

52
O5.7
S-locus identification in 96 European apricot cultivars using a synthetic
reference sequence of Parm_S-loci

Jorge Lora, Subtropical Fruit Crops Department, La Mayora IHSM-UMA-CSIC, Avenida Wienberg, s/n., 29750
Algarrobo-Costa, Málaga, Spain; jlora@eelm.csic.es
Andrea Torres, Departamento de Ciencia Vegetal, CITA, Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain;
adlmtorres@cita-aragon.es
Jose I. Hormaza, IHSM La Mayora-CSIC-UMA, Algarrobo-Costa, Avenida Wienberg, sn., 29750 Malaga Malaga,
Spain; ihormaza@eelm.csic.es
Javier Rodrigo, Departamento de Ciencia Vegetal, CITA, Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain;
jrodrigo@cita-aragon.es
Afif Hedhly, Departamento de Ciencia Vegetal, CITA, Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain;
ahedhli@cita-aragon.es

Apricot is one of the most important temperate fruit crops with a Gametophytic Self-Incompatibility
(GSI) system, which promotes out-breeding. The GSI is governed by a multiallelic S-locus that houses
the S-haplotype-specific F-box (SFB) and S-RNase genes. A precise identification of the S-alleles of
apricot cultivars is essential for breeders and producers to make informed decisions for selecting the
most suitable cultivars for planting and breeding. However, numerous S-locus misidentifications have
been reported, likely attributed to inaccurate PCR methods, including some homonymies and
synonymies. Until now, 31 S-RNase and 33 SFB alleles have been reported. Furthermore, additional
unpublished S-alleles sequences are available in the NCBI database. Leveraging advancements in
massive sequencing techniques and decreasing sequencing costs, in this study we adopted novel
genotyping-by-sequencing approaches and conducted a large-scale S-locus identification in 96
European apricot cultivars. We meticulously searched for all S-RNase and SFB alleles of Prunus
armeniaca in the NCBI database, generated a curated list after disentangling several homonyms and
synonyms, constructed a synthetic reference sequence of S-loci, and designed a robust S-allele
genotyping procedure for apricot cultivars. This innovative approach allowed us to genotype all
cultivars -identifying 50 S-RNase alleles and 26 SFB alleles- and to reconstruct some haplotypes based
on genotyping results. We also confirmed the prevalence of self-compatible cultivars (68% n= 96)
among European apricot cultivars.

O5.8
Wild apricots (Zerdali): High morphological, biochemical and phytochemical
diversity

Sezai Ercisli, sercisli@gmail.com

Gulce Ilhan
Atatürk University, Agricultural Faculty, Department of Horticulture, 25240 Erzurum, Turkey

Wild apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) trees are common in each region in Anatolia and for centuries
used as important food sources particularly in rural areas. Seed propagated wild apricot trees are
also an important cultural heritage source and show great environment plasticity. There was an
increasing interest to wild apricots in Turkey because the fruits are more suitable for juice industry
due to high aroma and better SSC/acidity balance. Seeds of them are used as rootstocks for apricot
cultivars for centuries. Recently its sweet seeds gained more importance in market as a food. Fruits
of wild apricots are also an important food in wild apricot growing regions in the country and add
value as a sustainable nutrition source. In the present study, a total of 180 wild apricots widely grown

53
in different parts of inner Anatolia were characterized by morphological (fruit weight, flesh/seed
ratio, fruit firmness, and color index), nutritional (individual sugars and organic acids) and
nutraceutical (total phenolic, total flavonoids, total carotenoid, and antioxidant activity) features. The
obtained results showed that wild apricot ecotypes greatly differed each other for morphological,
nutritional, and nutraceutical characteristics. The ecotypes fruit weight, flesh/seed ratio, and fruit
firmness were between 16.34-28.44 g; 7.66-13.11; and 4.22-6.71 kg/cm2, respectively. Citric acid and
sucrose were the dominant organic acid and sugar in fruits for all wild apricot ecotypes. The
nutraceutical traits are quite variable among ecotypes.

Keywords: Wild apricots, nutraceutical, gene pool, composition.

O5.9
Implementation of Marker Assisted Selection: new prospective Insights
issued from GWAS approaches for addressing the major traits highlighted by
apricot fruit industry

Océane Perez, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France;

David Gerin-Jean, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; david.gerin-jean@ inrae.fr
Mariem Omrani, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France;
Marien Nsibi, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France;
Guillaume Roch, CEP INNOVATION, 23 rue Jean Baldassini, 69364 Lyon Cedex 7, France;
guillaume.roch@inrae.fr
Guy Clauzel, CEP INNOVATION, 23 rue Jean Baldassini, 69364 Lyon Cedex 7, France; guillaume.roch@inrae.fr
Alain Blanc, INRAE – A2M, Domaine de l’Amarine, 30127 Bellegarde, France
Jacques Lagnel, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; jacques.lagnel@ inrae.fr
Laure Heurtevin, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; laure.heurtevin@ inrae.fr
Frédérique Bitton, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; frederic.bitton@ inrae.fr
Cindy Morris, INRAE – Pathologie Végétale, 84143 Montfavet, France; cindy.morris@inrae.fr
Eric Martin, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; eric.martin@ inrae.fr
Marie Serrie, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; marie.serrie@ inrae.fr
Sylvie Bureau, INRAE, UMR SQPOV, Domaine St Paul, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France;
sylvie.bureau@inrae.fr
Barbara Gouble, INRAE - Avignon université - UR408 SQPOV, Site Agroparc, domaine de St Paul, Avignon,
France; barbara.gouble@inrae.fr
Marielle Boge, INRAE - Avignon université - UR408 SQPOV, Site Agroparc, domaine de St Paul, Avignon,
Laurent Brun, INRAE, UERI Gotheron, 460 chemin de Gotheron, 26320 Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence, France ;
Freddy Combe, INRAE, UERI Gotheron, 460 chemin de Gotheron, 26320 Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence, France ;
Mathilde Le Pans, INRAE, UERI Gotheron, 460 chemin de Gotheron, 26320 Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence, France ;
Jean-Marc Audergon, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; jean-marc.audergon@inrae.fr

The apricot, temperate Prunus species mainly cultivated in the Mediterranean Basin, is facing
important challenges that are to produce quality fruits, with a high level of production regularity
while managing the phytosanitary state of the orchards. By the same time the growers undergo a
strong pressure to reduce the use of phytosanitary products. Among the key factors able to address
these objectives the valorization of the available genetic resources is able to offer an effective
solution.
Based on the evaluation of a genetic representative collection of 160 accessions large (core-
collection) and on a characterization conducted on multidisciplinary base the major traits highlighted
by the fruits growers have been concurrenltly investigated. Among them an attention has been paid
to phenology (flowering date, anomalies, maturity date), fruit quality (fruit weight, sugar and acidity

54
content) and susceptibility to pest and diseases (bacterial canker, powdery mildew, rust, brown rot
…) have been investigated.
A key experimental design (Bloc Randomized experimental design (160 accessions x 5 blocs x 1
replication per bloc)) implanted in INRAE Gotheron has been investigated. It has been completed by
observations conducted in the genetic resource collection located in A2M Amarine. According to the
traits 1 to 4 years of obervations were conducted.
All the accessions involved in the core-collection have been sequenced (Illumina HiSeq2000
technologies). The sequences were filtered (biallelic with two different alleles by site, less than 25%
of missing data, …) and a final set of XXXSNP has been used.
All the traits under investigation were quantitatively inherited and whatever the traits highly
significant genetic components have been shown with heritability ranging from XX to XX. Based on
MLMM GWAS modelling highly significant relevant SNP markers have been identified for all the traits
of interest and markers suitable for Kaspar based analysis are under development.

O5.10
Advanced genetic mùapping integrating genotype by sequencing and QTL
identification of phenology and fruit quality traits in Apricot Progenies

Germán Ortuño-Hernández, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, E-30100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain;
gortuno@cebas.csic.es
Pedro Martínez-Gómez, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, E-30100 Murcia, Espinardo, Spain;
pmartinez@cebas.csic.es
David Ruiz, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, E-30100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain; druiz@cebas.csic.es
Juan Salazar, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, 30.100 Murcia,
Spain; jasalazar@cebas.csic.es

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is an edible fruit known for its well-balanced acidity-sweetness,
providing a characteristic flavor. Its antioxidant properties are associated with both the skin and
flesh, theoretically offering health benefits. Currently, this species ranks as the third most important
stone fruit in terms of fruit production, with Turkey being the leading producer, with more than
800,000 metric tons annually produced. Among European countries, Italy, Spain, and France are the
most significant producers, with a production ranging from 180,000 to 80,000 metric tons,
respectively. This species is characterized by its diploid genome (2n = 16) and has been the focus of
research in the apricot breeding program developed at the CEBAS-CSIC research center in Murcia
since the 1980s. Murcia region contributes significantly, accounting for 40% of the national
production. The primary goals of this breeding program include obtaining novel varieties
characterized by early or late maturation, high fruit quality traits, and good postharvest performance.
To achieve these goals, Genotype by Sequencing was implemented to construct saturated parental
genetic maps for the ‘Bergeron’ × ‘Currot’ ('B×C', n= 134) and ‘Goldrich’ × ‘Currot’ ('G×C', n=159)
apricot populations. This technique facilitated the genetic mapping of 991 SNPs in 'BxC' and 1,022
SNPs in 'GxC,' covering approximately 500 to 800 cM on each parental map. Over a span of at least
six years, phenological traits, including blooming date, fruit development period, and ripening time,
were recorded, along with two years of fruit quality traits (fruit weight, fruit color, firmness, soluble
solids, and acidity). Major trait associations related to ripening time and fruit color, identified
through General Linear Models, have been more precisely validated by using significant QTLs in the
present genetic maps. This provides valuable information for the implementation of molecular-
assisted selection in fruit quality-related traits in apricot.

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O5.11
Investigating the multi-disease challenge in apricot through single and multi-
environment genome wide association studies

Marie Serrie, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; marie.serrie@INRAE.fr

Vincent Segura, INRAE UMR AGAP Avenue Agropolis, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5 France ;
vincent.segura@inrae.fr
Alain Blanc, INRAE – A2M, Domaine de l’Amarine, 30127 Bellegarde, France
Laurent Brun, INRAE, UERI Gotheron, 460 chemin de Gotheron, 26320 Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence, France ;
laurent.brun@inrae.fr
Freddy Combe, INRAE, UERI Gotheron, 460 chemin de Gotheron, 26320 Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence, France
Amandine Fleury, INRAE, UERI Gotheron, 460 chemin de Gotheron, 26320 Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence, France
Mathilde Le-Pans, INRAE, UERI Gotheron, 460 chemin de Gotheron, 26320 Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence, France
Véronique Signoret, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; veronique.signoret@inrae.fr
Sabrina Viret, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; sabrina.viret@inrae.fr
Jean-Marc Audergon, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; jean-marc.audergon@inrae.fr
Bénédicte Quilot, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; benedicte.quilot-turion@ inrae.fr
Morgane Roth, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; morgane.roth@inrae.fr

Over their entire lifetime, apricot trees are exposed to a wide range of pests and diseases incurring
for significant sanitary impacts and economic losses. Several sources of partial resistances have been
identified but the underlying genetic architecture has yet to be elucidated for most diseases.
In this study, the objective is to identify the genetic components underlying resistance – or low
susceptibility – of two major diseases in apricot: blossom blight (Monilinia spp.) and leaf rust
(Tranzschelia spp.). To do so, a core collection composed by 150 accessions replicated in 5
randomized blocs was grown under low phytosanitary conditions in two environmentally contrasted
locations in South-East of France. These accessions have been densely sequenced with the Illumina
HiSeq 2000 NGS technique.
After monitoring rust and blossom blight damages from 2020 to 2023, we dissected the observed
phenotypic variation into genotype, environment and their interactions effects via descriptive
statistics and variance decompositions. To identify genetic markers linked to resistance components,
we firstly performed genome wide association studies (GWAS) for each environment separately. We
found stable genetic effects across the environment, reflected by robust quantitative trait loci (QTLs).
In contrasts, some QTLs were only detected in a specific set of trial. To jointly analyse site-specific
GWAS results and improve statistical power, we used a meta-analysis GWAS approach. By using a
random effect procedure, we were able to consider the heterogeneity of the QTL effects across
environments and the correlation between the single-environment GWAS. In the last approach we
performed multi-environment GWAS with the MTMM package to dissociate QTLs from QTL by
environment interactions effects.
The present results provide insights into the genetic basis of blossom blight and rust susceptibility in
apricot and therefore contribute to the development of genomics-assisted breeding to improve
biotic resilience in apricot varieties.

Keywords: disease resistance and tolerance; genome-wide association studies (GWAS); multi-
environment trials (METs); Genotype x Environment interactions; apricot; blossom blight (Monilinia
spp.), leaf rust (Tranzschelia spp.)

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P5.1
Phenotypic diversity in blackthorn (Prunus spinosa L.) populations and
opportunities for valorisation

Sina Cosmulescu, University of Craiova, Horticulture Faculty, A.I. Cuza Street, 13, Craiova, Romania;
sinacosmulescu@hotmail.com
Nicolae Gheorghiu, University of Craiova, Horticulture Faculty, Craiova, Romania;
nicolae.gheorghiu@edu.ucv.ro
Florentina Calusaru, University of Craiova, Horticulture Faculty, Craiova, Romania; calusaru_flory@yahoo.com

In the last period, a multitude of researches have directed their attention to the immense
biodiversity existing in Prunus spinosa species, either for the valorisation of fruits, rich in biologically
active components, or for the valorisation of some individuals for improvement or ornamental
purposes. The present study aimed to study the existing genetic diversity in blackthorn populations
from spontaneous flora of Oltenia region (Romania), to identify valuable individuals and to propose
their exploitation. A characterization of the plant and physical-chemical analysis of fruits were carried
out. Determining the physical and chemical characteristics of fruits is a stage that precedes the
establishment of their edible mass and an important step towards the qualitative and quantitative
assessment of production volume and tracing the directions for the valorization of fruits. As a result
of the observations made, it was proven that there is a high variability between blackthorn
genotypes, regarding the fruit characteristics, while some genotypes could be important from an
orchard crop and food value point of view.

P5.2
Plum local genetic resources in Greece; identification, morphological and
genetic characterization

Pavlina Drogoudi, Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Res, 38 RR Station, 59035 Naousa, Greece;
pdrogoudi@elgo.gr
Georgios Pantelidis, 38 RR Naoussis, 59200 Naoussa, Greece; gpantelidis@elgo.gr
Danae Sfakianou, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece; danae@med-ina.org
Penelope Bebeli, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece; bebeli@aua.gr
Varvara Maliogka, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; vmaliogk@agro.auth.gr
Lefkothea Karapetsi, Institute of Applied Biosciences, Thessaloniki, Greece; lefki8@certh.gr
Panagiotis Madesis, Institute of Applied Biosciences, Thessaloniki, Greece; pmadesis@certh.gr

Local Greek cultivars and accessions of European plum (Prunus domestica L.) present wide
phenotypic variability in fruit traits and ripening time. With the aim of identifying, exploring and
safeguarding the local plum genetic resources prospecting work was made in mainland locations
(Grevena, Imathia and Fthiotida) and islands (Andros, Chios, Crete, Ikaria, Lesvos, Limnos, Samos,
Samothrace and Skopelos) of Greece. Thirty-one genotypes were identified, and phenotypic
characterization was made in 22 of them. Fruit and leaf morphological characterization was done in
situ using 42 qualitative morpho-physiological descriptors, following the protocol of the Community
Plant Variety Office. The genetic variability of the studied cultivars/ accessions was studied using
Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR). The resulted DNA profiles were scored as present (1) or absent
(0) and further analysis was done using GenAlEx 6.5, including genetic distance matrices. Analysis of
Molecular Variance and Principal Coordinates Analysis were also performed. The local cultivars ‘Glyka
Skopelou’, ‘Ksina Skopelou’, ‘Avgati’ and ‘Asvestohoriou’ were screened for the presence of
important viruses and plant material tested free from those agents was identified or retrieved with
thermotherapy. According to fruit phenotypic traits, the accessions were grouped as Prunus (2),

57
Damson/Bullaces (11), Greengages (5), Egg (3) and Mirabelle (1) types. Currently, the local plum cv
‘Glyka Skopelou’ is the only one Prunus type plum that is commercially exploited. Cultivar
‘Asvestohoriou’ (Egg type) is separated for early ripening time, high productivity and large fruit size,
but due to the spread of plum pox virus, it is no longer commercially grown. Some local plums are
still grown for the local market or used as pollenizers (eg. ‘Mpardakia’ in Fthiiotida, ‘Praousti’ in
Samothrace, and ‘Avgati’ in Skopelos). Results are also discussed in the frame of establishing the
genetic distance matrix where plum accessions were clustered into groups.

P5.3
Identification, morphological and genetic characterization of apricot genetic
resources in Greece

Pavlina Drogoudi, Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Res, 38 RR Station, 59035 Naousa, Greece;
pdrogoudi@elgo.gr
Christos Bazakos, Instiute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Reso, 59200 Naoussa, Greece; cbazakos@elgo.gr
Georgios Pantelidis, Instiute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Reso, 59200 Naoussa, Greece; gpantelidis@elgo.gr
Konstantina Ziakou, Instiute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Reso, 59200 Naoussa, Greece; kziakou@elgo.gr
Varvara Maliogka, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; vmaliogk@agro.auth.gr
Lefkothea Karapetsi, Institute of Applied Biosciences, Thessaloniki, Greece; lefki8@certh.gr
Panagiotis Madesis, Institute of Applied Biosciences, Thessaloniki, Greece; pmadesis@certh.gr

Genetic resources are crucial for adaptation to climate change. Apricots, for instance, have been
adapted from dry and warm regions with low chill accumulation to colder climates, indicating a
unique genetic architecture that facilitates adaptability and productivity across diverse
environmental conditions. To explore and protect these local apricot genetic resources, expeditions
were conducted in mainland Greece, specifically in Imathia and Magnesia, as well as on the islands of
Andros, Chios, Ikaria, Lesvos, and Samos. During these expeditions, fifteen local apricot cultivars and
six accessions were subjected to morphological and genetic characterization. The findings were then
compared to those of foreign cultivars that have a long history of cultivation in Greece. Fruit and leaf
morphological characterization was done in situ, using 37 qualitative morpho-physiological
descriptors, following the protocol of the Community Plant Variety Office. The genetic variability of
the studied cultivars/ accessions was studied using Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) and 20
Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR). Analyses including Genetic Distance Matrices, Analysis of Molecular
Variance (AMOVA), and Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) were performed on 65 apricot
genotypes. In addition, accessions exhibiting favorable agronomic traits were identified on the island
of Samos, as well as in Naoussa and Kalamata. The local cultivar ‘Zartaloudia’, cultivated on the
islands of Chios, Lesvos, Samos, and Ikaria, was distinguished for its high productivity with marginal
inputs. Plant material from cvs ‘Tsaoulia’ and ‘Kaisi Ikarias’ were screened for the presence of viruses.
Planting material free from the tested viruses was identified only for ‘Kaisi Ikarias’, while
thermotherapy was conducted in ‘Tsaoulia’. Furthermore, the results contribute to the establishment
of a genetic distance matrix, enabling the clustering of apricot accessions into distinct groups, which
is discussed within the context of this research

P5.4
Improvement of fruit tree data inclusion in EURISCO

Stein Harald Hjeltnes, CEO Njoes Fruit- and Berry Centre, Njoesavegen 5, 6863 Leikanger, Norway; shh@njos.no
Anne-Francoise Adam-Blondon, INRAE, URGI - UR Génomique-Info, 78026 Versailles, France; anne-
francoise.adam-blondon@inrae.fr

58
Zsuzsanna Békefi, National Agricultural Research and Innov., 2 Park str., 1223 Budapest, Hungary;
bekefi.zsuzsanna72@gmail.com
Mauro Bergamaschi, CREA, Via la Canapona 1 bis, 47121 Forlí, Italy; mauro.bergamaschi@crea.gov.it
Frida Carka, Gene Bank of Albania, Rruga Siri Kodra 1321, Tirana, Albania; fridacarka@yahoo.com
Marine Delmas, INRAE Prunus-Juglans BRC, 161 Chemin de la Tour de Rance, 47320 Bourran, France;
marine.delmas@inrae.fr
Caroline Denancé, INRAE, Bat. B, 42 rue Georges Morel, Angers, France; caroline.denance@inrae.fr
Daniela Giovannini, CREA, Via la Canapona 1 bis, 47121 Forlí, Italy; daniela.giovannini@crea.gov.it
Tuuli Haikonen, LUKE, Toivonlinnantie 518, 21500 Piikkiö, Finland; tuuli.haikonen@luke.fi
Monika Höfer, Julius-Kühn Institut, Pillnitzer Platz 3a, Dresden, Germany; monika.hoefer@julius-kuehn.de
Hedi Kaldmaë, Polli Horticultural Reseach Stn, 51015 Tartu, Estonia; Hedi.Kaldmaee@emu.ee
Markus Kellerhals, Agroscope, Müller-Thurgau-Str. 29, 8820 Wädenswil, Switzerland;
markus.kellerhals@agroscope.admin.ch
Boris Krska, Holovousy Ltd, 50801 Horice, Czech Republic; boris.krska@vsuo.cz
Christina Kägi, Federal Dept of Economic Affairs, Schwarzenburgstrasse 165, 3003 Bern, Switzerland;
christina.kaegi@blw.admin.ch
Gunars Lacis, Institute of Horticulture, Graudu str.1, 3701 Dobele, Latvia; gunars.lacis@llu.lv
Marc Lateur, CRA-W, Gembloux, Rue de Liroux 4, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium; lateur@cra.wallonie.be
Hélène Muranty, INRAE, Bat. B, 42 rue Georges Morel, Angers, France; helene.muranty@inrae.fr
Gregor Osterc, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; gregor.osterc@bf.uni-lj.si
Jiri Sedlak, Holovousy Ltd, 50801 Horice, Czech Republic; jiri.sedlak@vsuo.cz
Willem van Dooijeweert, Centre for Genetic Resources, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen, Netherlands;
willem.vandooijeweert@wur.nl
Stefan Weise, IPK Gatersleben EURISCO, OT Gatersleben Corrensstrae 3, 06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany;
weise@ipk-gatersleben.de
Matthew Ordidge, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, United Kingdom; m.ordidge@reading.ac.uk

The project “Improvement of Fruit Tree Data Inclusion in EURISCO – FRUITTREEDATA” includes 19
partners from 15 countries, and is funded under the European Cooperative Program on plant Genetic
Resources (ECPGR) Activity Grant Scheme. The main activities in the project will be carried out in
2024 and 2025.
The background to the project centres on the lack of Characterization and Evaluation (C&E) data
from the fruit sector in the EURISCO database. Furthermore, a series of ‘central crop databases’
(CCDBs) that were partly developed to manage C&E data prior to EURISCO have become
unsustainable. The CCDBs contain C&E and/or passport data for Malus, Pyrus and Prunus, and it is
important that such phenotypic data are centralized within EURISCO since this is now the formal
database for ECPGR.
There remains a gap between the administrative listing of material and data within EURISCO and the
material and data that are known to the curators of the field genebanks and the project aims to fill
this gap. The recently developed system of MUNQ/PUNQ/CHUNQ genotype coding for apples, pears
and cherries will be used to help solve some of the problems of unknown duplication, as this system
is a tool to identify the uniqueness of accessions and to reveal synonymy Although, for plums no such
system is available yet. Overall, the project aims to open the gates for fruit tree data from the
collections into EURISCO.

P5.5
Monitoring fruit development and ripening in apricot through gene
expression analysis

Germán Ortuño-Hernández, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, E-30100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain;
gortuno@cebas.csic.es
María Sánchez-Espejo, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, E-30100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain;
espejomaria695@gmail.com

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Pedro Martínez-Gómez, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, E-30100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain;
pmartinez@cebas.csic.es
David Ruiz, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, E-30100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain; druiz@cebas.csic.es
Juan Salazar, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, 30.100 Murcia,
Spain; jasalazar@cebas.csic.es

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) ranks as the third most important stone fruit tree worldwide, known
for its extensive genetic diversity and a diverse array of commercial varieties valued for their
nutritional and sensory qualities. However, the species faces challenges due to its climacteric nature,
which affects its shelf-life. The objective of this research was to analyze the expression of genes
related to the essential metabolic pathways by using qPCR analyzing the main physiological stages,
including fruit development, ripening, and post-harvest phases. Fruit samples were collected from
eight genotypes at the CEBAS-CSIC research center, namely 'Cebas Red', 'Currot', 'Goldrich', 'Orange
Red', 'Rojo Pasión', '906-12', 'Deseo', and 'Bergeron'. The investigation tracked physiological and
quality traits, encompassing fruit growth, chlorophyll content, firmness, soluble solids, acidity, CO2
levels, and ethylene emission. Among the selected genotypes, 'Cebas Red' and 'Rojo Pasión' emerged
as the most contrasting varieties in terms of firmness and ethylene emission. The expression of genes
associated with various fruit development stages was specifically analyzed in these genotypes.
Significant differences in gene expression were discerned, especially in genes linked to hormonal
signal transduction (ACS, IAA) and cell wall remodeling (PG, PME). Notably, these genes exhibited
heightened expression at ripening time and postharvest stages. Additionally, genes associated with
fruit color (CRTZ) and oxidative stress (PET) demonstrated increased expression in pre-ripening
states. Crucially, genes conventionally associated with fruit ripening, such as ACS and IAA (hormonal
signal transduction) or PG and PME (cell wall remodeling), displayed marked differential expression
between 'Cebas Red' (with an extended shelf life) and 'Rojo Pasión' (with a shorter shelf life) in the
early growth stages. These results highlight the fundamental role of the assayed genes from the
beginning of fruit development, confirming their importance in determining shelf-life. The findings
shed valuable information on the genetic coordination of apricot fruit ripening, presenting potential
applications for improving shelf-life.

P5.6
Inheritance of fruit quality traits in apricot

Patricia Irisarri Sarto, CITA, Avda. de Montañana, 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain; pirisarri@cita-aragon.es
Lourdes Castel, Avda. de Montañana, 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain; lcastel@cita-aragon.es
Pilar Errea, Avda. de Montañana, 930, Zaragoza, Spain; perrea@cita-aragon.es
Ana Pina, Avda. de Montañana, 930, Zaragoza, Spain; apina@cita-aragon.es

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is one of the most important stone fruit crops in the Mediterranean
area and its fruits are highly appreciated, both for their organoleptic qualities and nutritional
benefits. Due to its significance in consumer satisfaction, a key factor in developing new apricot
varieties is the improvement of fruit quality traits. Hence, it is crucial to progress in understanding
the transmission of these quality traits in order to design new crosses and to improve the efficiency
of apricot breeding program. The aim of this study was to investigate the inheritance patterns of
quantitative and qualitative fruit quality traits in an F1 apricot population (N = 156) derived from the
cross between the Spanish cultivar 'Moniqui' (female parent) and the French cultivar 'Paviot' (male
parent), which show a great phenotypic variability for some of the traits studied. This population was
phenotyped for two years for nine quality traits (size, color, ripening date, soluble solids content,
acidity, firmness, flavor, aroma and texture). Preliminary results showed a normal distribution for
most of the traits studied, indicating the polygenic character and quantitative inheritance of these
traits. However, in contrast to the expected intermediate values between parents, it is worth noting
the presence of transgressive values outside the range of the parents in many of the traits, due to the

60
influence of the genetic background of the parents, which largely determines the segregation
obtained in the offspring studied. These results will be the basis for the study of the genetic control
of these traits and will allow progress in the identification of genomic regions (QTLs) and candidate
genes associated with fruit quality in apricot.

P5.7
Identification of QTLs for Japanese plum fruit color, size and shape using a
computer-vision phenotyping approach

Arnau Fiol, INTA - Universidad de Chile, El Líbano 5524, Macul, Santiago, Chile; arnau.fiol@inta.uchile.cl
Sebastián Ahumada, INTA - Universidad de Chile, El Líbano 5524, Macul, Santiago, Chile;
sebastian.ahumada.h@ug.uchile.cl
María Osorio, INTA - Universidad de Chile, El Líbano 5524, Macul, Santiago, Chile; maria.osorio.a@ug.uchile.cl
Paulina Ballesta, INTA - Universidad de Chile, El Líbano 5524, Macul, Santiago, Chile;
paulina.ballesta@inta.uchile.cl
Rodrigo Infante, Laboratorio de Mejora y calidad de la fruta, Universidad de Chile, Av. Santa Rosa 11315, La
Pintana, Santiago, Chile; rinfante@uchile.cl
Igor Pacheco, INTA - Universidad de Chile, El Líbano 5524, Macul, Santiago, Chile; igor.pacheco@inta.uchile.cl

The mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for fruit quality traits requires the phenotyping of fruits
harvested from a large number of genotypes, a laborious and time-consuming task that increases
exponentially with the number of traits, individuals, and fruits evaluated. We have developed a
pipeline to high-throughput phenotype color, size and shape of fruits, which relies on a machine-
learning algorithm that detects plums from standardized images before their data collection. The
objective of this study was to validate this pipeline for its use in genomic studies aimed at detecting
QTLs for these traits. For this, we used this methodology to image-phenotype 675 plum fruits from a
test panel of 157 trees that have been genotyped using double digest restriction-site associated DNA
sequencing (ddRAD-seq) technology. Phenotypic data distribution, correlation and principal
component analysis (PCA) results indicated that the measures were able to differentiate fruits
according to their color, size and shape. Finally, we conducted a genome-wide association study
(GWAS) in the test panel using a mixed-linear model (MLM) and the obtained phenotypic data.
Several QTLs were detected, most of which were newly discovered and others were consistent with
previous studies, such as the Hue color in LG3 and the aspect ratio (width/height) in LG7. We
conclude that this phenotyping pipeline can effectively be used in future GWAS and QTL analyses in
plum, and potentially other types of fruits.

Funding: FONDECYT N°1231614, IDeA ID22I10266 and FONDECYT Nº3240559.

P5.8
Breaking sharka resistance in apricot

Manuel Rubio, CEBAS-CSIC PO box 164, 30100 Espinardo Murcia, Spain; mrubio@cebas.csic.es
Pedro Martínez-Gómez, CEBAS-CSIC PO box 164, 30100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain; pmartinez@cebas.csic.es
David Ruiz, CEBAS-CSIC PO box 164, 30100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain; druiz@cebas.csic.es
Jesús López-Alcolea, CEBAS-CSIC PO box 164, 30100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain; jlopez-alcolea@cebas.csic.es
Juan Antonio García, CNB-CSIC C Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain; jagarcia@cnb.csic.es
Bernardo Rodamilans, CNB-CSIC C Darwin 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain; brodamilans@cnb.csic.es

61
Sharka (Plum pox virus, PPV) is still a permanent threat for the production of stone fruits around the
world, including apricots (Prunus armeniaca). Despite this fact, the Plum pox virus has been
eliminated as a quarantine pest by the European Union (Implementing Regulation EU 2019/2072). So
far, genetic resistance has been the most effective tool for fighting against PPV. However, it is
difficult to be sure about the behavior of the different cultivars available in the market, mainly due to
the inconsistency of PPV phenotyping linked to different PPV strains and evaluations methods, and
the limited results given by the markers linked to Sharka resistance. Related to this, in 2020, one PPV-
D-resistant cultivar, ‘CebasRed’, grafted onto a severely infected ‘Albasol’ apricot tree, displayed
significant Sharka symptom. At first, we thought that it was PPV-M-strain, but surprisingly it was
proben to be a Dideron Type. Currently, we are working to identify possible mutations related to
resistance-breaking in collaboration with JA Garcia’s team at the “Centro National de Biotecnología”.
In addition to PPV, we also have detected the presence of Cherry virus A (CVA) and Hop stunt viroid
(HSVd). Meanwhile, a preliminary test in a quarantine greenhouse has confirmed resistance-breaking
in most of the resistant cultivars currently under phenotyping. Varieties traditionally considered
resistant like ‘Orange Red’, ‘Lito’ or ‘Stella’ have proved to be susceptible. Further studies are in
progress in order to clarify what is going on with this worrisome, possibly new, PPV-isolate that we
call “Dχ” and the interaction with other viruses or viroids.

P5.9
Whole Genome Sequencing and GBS-derived SNPs for linkage map
construction and identification of QTLs linked to phenology and fruit quality
traits in Japanese Plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.)

David Ruiz, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain;
druiz@cebas.csic.es
María Nicolás-Almansa, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia,
Spain; mnicolas@cebas.csic.es
Juan Alfonso Salazar, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain;
jasalazar@cebas.csic.es
Manuel Rubio, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain;
mrubio@cebas.csic.es
Alfonso Guevara, Department of Plant Breeding, IMIDA, C Mayor, sn, 30150 La Alberca Murcia, Spain;
alfonso.guevara@carm.es
Pedro Martínez-Gómez, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia,
Spain; pmartinez@cebas.csic.es
Pat J Brown, University of California-UCDavis, Davis, United States of America; pjbrown@ucdavis.edu
Pedro J Martínez-García, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia,
Spain; pjmartinez@cebas.csic.es

Three segregating Japanese plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) populations —‘Black Splendor’ × ‘Pioneer’
(BS×PIO); ‘Red Beauty’ × ‘Black Splendor’ (RB×BS) and ‘Red Beauty’ × ‘Santa Rosa Precoz’ (RB×SRP) —
with 121, 103 and 103 seedlings respectively, were generated and used for the detection of
Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) associated with phenological and fruit quality traits in this species.
Whole genome sequence (WGS) data were obtained for the four parents at high depth (~80X), and
reduced representation sequence data were obtained for progeny at low depth (~0.5X). The TASSEL5
GBS pipeline was used to align the reads and to discover SNPs. For each parent and each population,
a progeny dataset was constructed containing only SNPs heterozygous in the focal parent and
homozygous in the other parent, using data from parental WGS. After genotyping and filtering, a
final set of 771 high quality SNPs in “BS×PIO”, 775 in “RB×BS” and 733 in “RB×SRP” were selected and
used to construct six parental linkage maps (two per population) with JoinMap®4.0. In addition,
these progenies were phenotyped for three seasons (2018, 2019, 2020) for important agronomic

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traits including main phenological [beginning of flowering, full flowering time, end of flowering,
flowering intensity, ripening time, fruit development period and productivity] and fruit quality [fruit
weight, fruit diameter, skin color, flesh color, fruit firmness, soluble solids content and acidity] traits.
QTL mapping was carried out using the collected phenotypic data and each SNP linkage map. Results
revealed significant QTLs for the beginning of flowering time on linkage groups 3 and 4, as well as for
ripening date and fruit development period on linkage groups 1, 2, and 4. Moreover, in the ‘Black
Splendor’ × ‘Pioneer’ population, QTLs for color traits were identified in linkage groups 3 and 5. This
study represents one of the first examples of QTL detection for quality and phenological traits in
Prunus using a Low-Coverage Whole Genome Sequencing (lcWGS) strategy. These results will be of
great interest to develop new markers for marker-assisted selection in Japanese plum.

P5.10
Self-(in)compatibility analysis of a worldwide core collection of apricot
species

Hedia Bourguiba, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Université de Tunis El Manar, 1002 Tunis, Tunisia;
hediabourguiba@hotmail.com
Ayda Boubakri, Université de Tunis El Manar UTM, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis FST, None Selected Tunis,
Tunisia; aydaboubakrisvt@gmail.com
Naima Dlalah, INRAE - GAFL, Avignon, France; Naima.Dlalah@inrae.fr
Guillaume Roch, CEP Innovation, Lyon, France; guillaume.roch@inrae.fr
Jean-Marc Audergon, INRAE- GAFL, Avignon, France; jean-marc.audergon@inrae.fr

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) exhibits a gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI) system. In apricot
plantations, self-incompatibility (SI) is one of the most important problem. In order to solve this
issue, molecular techniques are used to determine self-incompatibility in apricot accessions. In this
context, SI was studied in a worldwide core collection of 166 apricot accessions coming from
different geographic areas. The PCR amplification focused on S-locus targeting the genes, S-RNase
and SFB, with different primer combinations. Up to sixteen S-alleles were detected attesting the large
variability of the S-locus within the studied apricot germplasm. The distribution of the apricot S-
alleles confirmed the species’ domestication and diffusion history. The knowledge of incompatibility
relationships among apricot accessions can be a highly valuable tool for the development of future
breeding programs by selecting the appropriate parents and for efficient orchard design by planting a
combination of self-compatible and inter-compatible accessions.

P5.11
Apricot culture on silk roads: biodiversity loss from east to west

Sezai Ercisli, sercisli@gmail.com

Gulce Ilhan
Atatürk University, Agricultural Faculty, Department of Horticulture, 25240 Erzurum, Turkey

Biodiversity in particular plant biodiversity is one of the most important issues on the agenda today
and is the key factor to future food security. Anatolia is an important wild apricot biodiversity area in
the world. Apricot originated from China arrived to Anatolia via silk road. During the species diffusion
a second gene center in Turkey was revealed and the country display high diversity including wild and
cultivated apricots. Today there were a high apricot biodiversity loss in most of the apricot growing
countries because few apricot commercial cultivars have been used in cross breeding studies as
parents. In addition, during the species diffusion due to mutations, self-compatibility is increased

63
from eastern to western world, which makes apricot vulnerable to loss biodiversity. However, apricot
has a wide gene pool characterized by wild relatives and these wild relative’s potential to increase of
gene pool. This is vital for future climate change scenario that will affects food security. Wild relatives
of apricots have adaptive characteristics to diverse environmental conditions because they include
rich gene or gene combinations that could be adapt to climate change areas. In this study S-
genotyping is used in wild apricots in the elucidation of crop evolution and propagation history and
also to use them in biodiversity loss perspective. Results suggest that the mutation rendering the SC-
haplotype nonfunctional might have occurred somewhere east of Central Turkey and from eastern to
western, self-compatibility is increased during long cultivation period. The results also showed that
genetic diversity in the S-locus of wild-growing apricots in Turkey was still very high.

Keywords: Biodiversity, apricot, horticulture, gene pool, characterization.

P5.12
Measuring trunk circumference and flower density with RGB cameras in stone
fruit

Morgane Roth, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; morgane.roth@inrae.fr

Sylvain Jay, INRAE UMR EMMAH 228 route de l'Aérodrome 84140 Avignon, France ; sylvain.jay@INRAE.fr
Nathan Guilhot, Hiphen, 120 Rue Jean Dausset, 84140 Avignon, France
Evelyne Costes, INRAE UMR AGAP Avenue Agropolis, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5 France
Frédéric Boudon, INRAE UMR AGAP Avenue Agropolis, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5 France
Mathias Lefèbvre, INRAE - A2M 67 Allée des Chênes 84140 Avignon, France; Mathias.lefebvre@inrae.fr
Julien Desforges, INRAE - GAFL 67 Allée des Chênes 84140 Avignon, France
Marie-Pia D’Argaignon2, UMR EMMAH 228 route de l'Aérodrome 84140 Avignon, France
Jérémy Labrosse, Hiphen, 120 Rue Jean Dausset, 84140 Avignon, France
Marc Labadie, Hiphen, 120 Rue Jean Dausset, 84140 Avignon, France
Marie Weiss, INRAE UMR EMMAH 228 route de l'Aérodrome 84140 Avignon, France ; marie.weiss@INRAE.fr

Digital phenotyping has the potential to sustain the use of genetic resources for fruit tree breeding
by increasing the throughput and the accuracy of phenotypic measurements. The aim of this study is
to assess the potential of RGB cameras to measure trunk circumference and flower density in apricot
and peach. Two vectors were employed to this aim: the ground-based phenotyping pole LITERAL
equipped with two RGB cameras, and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) AUTEL Evo II equipped with
one RGB camera. We screened a large diversity of peach and apricot accessions planted in a core-
collection design within orchards containing 2 to 5 randomized blocs of 206 and 150 genotypes,
respectively. For estimating trunk circumference, we used pictures from LITERAL combined with
wood segmentation and stereovision algorithm. Although correlation between observed and
predicted values for trunks between 10 and 40cm circumference were high (r2= 0.66), trunk
estimation errors were comprised between 9.5 and 13.5mm which is insufficient to measure
interannual growth. Further analyses revealed that this lack of precision essentially stems from wood
segmentation errors which can be addressed by improving the training set. Flower density was
estimated either with single flower detection (LITERAL images) or with photogrammetric analyses
followed by flower and wood segmentation (UAV images). We discuss the precision and feasibility of
these measurements and our strategy to produce analytic pipelines in order to deploy digital
phenotyping for trunk circumference and flower density traits which are of major interest for
breeding.

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P5.13
“Innovative Organic Fruit Breeding and uses” InnOBreed
A targeted approach for maximizing Technological, Environmental, and Social
Innovation impacts through all over the Fruit Chain

Jean-Marc Audergon, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; jean-marc.audergon@inrae.fr

Marc Lateur, Centre Wallon de Recherches Agronomiques (CRA-W), Belgium ; m.lateur@cra.wallonie.be
Danilo Christen, Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (WBF – AGROSCOPE),
Switzerland ; danilo.christen@agroscope.admin.ch
Mariagiulia Marini, UNIPI - UNIVERSITA DI PISA, Italy ; mariagiuliam@gmail.com
Michael Friedli, FIBL, Ackerstrasse 113, CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland ; michael.friedli@fibl.org
Clémence Boutry, FIBL, Ackerstrasse 113, CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland ; clemence.boutry@fibl.org
Sylvie Bureau, INRAE, UMR SQPOV, Domaine St Paul, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France ;
sylvie.bureau@inrae.fr
David Tricon, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France ; david.tricon@inrae.fr
Sabrina Micali, CREA, Via di Fioranello, 52, 00134 Roma, Italy ; sabrina.micali@crea.gov.it
Daniela Giovannini, CREA, Forli, Émilie-Romagne, Italy ; daniela.giovannini@crea.gov.it
David Ray, CEP INNOVATION, 23 rue Jean Baldassini, 69364 Lyon Cedex 7, France ; d.ray@cepinnovation-
novadi.com
Sandrine Codarin, CTIFL Centre de Lanxade 28 route des Nebouts 24130 PRIGONRIEUX, France ;
sandrine.codarin@ctifl.fr
François Warlop, GRAB, 255 chemin de la Castelette, 84911 AVIGNON Cedex 9, France ;
francois.warlop@grab.fr
Niklas Oeser, OON, Oko-Obstbau Norddeutschland Versuchs- undBeratungsring e.V., Germany ;
niklas.oeser@esteburg.de
Enrique Dapena de la Fuente, SERIDA, SERVICIO REGIONAL DE INVESTIGACION Y DESARROLLO
AGROALIMENTARIO DEL PRINCIPADO DE ASTURIAS, Spain ; edapena@serida.org
Lidia Lozano, IRTA – CERCA, INSTITUT DE RECERCA I TECNOLOGIA AGROALIMENTARIES, Italy ;
lidia.lozano@irta.cat
Boris Krska, VSUOHOLOV, OVUYSZYKUMNY A SLECHTITELSKY USTAV OVOCNARSKY HOLOVOUSY SRO, Czech
Republic ; borokrska@gmail.com
Patricia Mora, INNO, INNOGESTIONA AMBIENTAL SL, Spain ; patriciamora@innogestiona.es
Pasquale Venerito, CRSFA, CENTRO DI RICERCA, SPERIMENTAZIONE E FORMAZIONE IN AGRICOLTURA BASILE
CARAMIA, Italy ; pasqualevenerito@crsfa.it
Maren Korsgaard, UCPH, KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET, Denmark ; mkor@plen.ku.dk
Andreas Sporrnberger, BOKU, UNIVERSITAET FUER BODENKULTUR WIEN, Austria ;
andreas.spornberger@boku.ac.at
Kostas Koutis, AEGILOPS, DIKTYO GIA TIN VIOPOIKILOTITA KAI TIN OIKOLOGIA STI GEORGIA, Greece ;
koutisresfarm@gmail.com
Niklaus Bollinger, POMACULTA, VEREIN POMA CULTA GEMEINNUTZIGER VEREIN ZUR FORDERUNG DER
FORSCHUNG AUF DEM GEBIET DES BIOLOGISCH-DYNAMISCHEN OBSTBAUS, Switzerland ; bolliger-
flury@bluewin.ch
Daniel Traon, ARCADIA, ARCADIA INTERNATIONAL GEIE, Belgium ; daniel.traon@arcadia-international.net
Claudio Bogliotti, CIHEAM-IAMB, CENTRO INTERNAZIONALE DI ALTISTUDI AGRONOMICI MEDITERRANEI, Bari,
Italy, bogliotti@iamb.it
Khaled Djelouah, CIHEAM-IAMB, CENTRO INTERNAZIONALE DI ALTISTUDI AGRONOMICI MEDITERRANEI, Bari,
Italy, djelouah@iamb.it

Fruit sector exhibits a positive image and positive impacts on human healthy diets. But, unfortunately
fruit production remains highly dependent on inputs, even in organic production system. Most
consumers expect crop production without synthetic pesticides and part moves toward organic
products. But most commercial cultivars are unable to meet this demand and are often not well
adapted to low input organic production. Because most of fruit breeding and selection processes
were conducted in a high input paradigm, it needs to be transformed to address organic challenges.

65
InnOBreed EU project proposes to mobilise Innovative Solutions (ISs) (ie: social innovations,
participative breeding, new ideotypes, new methods, tools and models) for fostering organic fruit
breeding with a focus on pome and stone fruits including apricot and plum. These ISs will be targeted
and developed using multi-actor, multi-trait and impact-oriented approaches and applied for both
evaluating Fruit Tree Genetic Resources, pre-breeding and advanced material. InnOBreed aims also
to improve the whole Fruit sector through the creation of Organic Variety Testing and Multi-
stakholders Networks. It deals with (i) identification of current needs in Organic fruit Farming
Systems (OFS), (ii) co-designing new ideotypes fitting with local OFS, (iii) identification of relevant
available ISs, (iv) co-creation of new ISs targeted onto climate change adaptation, fruit quality, pests
and diseases tolerance, low input fitness and robustness, (v) ISs testing, validation and
implementation by several case-studies in different regions, and in line with actual regulation rules,
(vii) development of new business models based on organic-related fair value proposals. Particular
attention will be paid to direct and indirect project impacts. InnOBreed will therefore allow to co-
create and launch solutions based on nature-based approaches which will benefit the whole fruit
chain.

Keywords: Fruit organic agriculture, multi-actor, multi-trait, resilience, participative, fruit genetic
resources, management, conservation, evaluation, phenology, climate change, pests and diseases,
fruit quality, cultivation system, sanitary status, plant material regulation, Organic Farming, Variety
Testing network, agronomic trait, ideotype, fruit chain, use, breeding, participative breeding,
robustness, sustainability, impact-oriented science.

P5.14
Whole genome exon-capture: a targeted approach for addressing apricot
genetic diversity on suitable bases for genetic analysis

Laure Heurtevin, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; laure.heurtevin@inrae.fr

Jacques Lagnel, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; jacques.lagnel@inrae.fr
Frederique Bitton, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; frederique.bitton@inrae.fr
Sylvain Santoni, INRAE UMR AGAP, Bâtiment ARCAD 10, rue Arthur Young 34090 Montpellier, France ;
sylvain.santoni@inrae.fr
Christine Tollon-Cordet, INRAE UMR AGAP, Bâtiment ARCAD 10, rue Arthur Young 34090 Montpellier, France ;
Audrey Weber, INRAE UMR AGAP, Bâtiment ARCAD 10, rue Arthur Young 34090 Montpellier, France ;
Jean-Marc Audergon, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; jean-marc.audergon@inrae.fr

Throughout domestication processes, phenotypic and genetic differentiations have occurred both
under environment and human selection pressures. Clear phylogeographic structuration has been
stated in apricot, and the challenge for the breeders is to fine tune tools capable of valorizing the
available phenotypic and genetic variability both for methodological studies and selection purposes.
Micro-array have been developed for peach, peach-related species and cherry, but none are
available on plum and apricot. Exon capture strategy has been implemented to give the opportunity
to target genes and regions of interest in the genome.
Targeted capture provides an efficient and sensitive tool to access genome exons polymorphism in a
high-throughput manner.
Two approaches were used: one by designing one or two capture probes (in 5’and 3’ UTR of genes),
called baits, on all 37521 Prunus armeniaca Marouch v3 genes (Groppi A et al, 2021) and the other by design
ten baits distributed over the coding regions of targeted candidate genes (1981 candidats genes)
already described in the prunus literature. A total set of 60,000 80-base baits has been obtained.
Initially, the set of baits has been tested on two complementary gene-pools of fourty-eight
accessions, one representing apricot genetic diversity and the other recombinants lines. The results
were completely in line with the expectations express a huge level of polymorphism suitable for

66
genetic diversity analysis, and biparental population analyses and also suitable for genomic selections
studies.

P5.15
Evaluation of Chinese apricot aroma

Liu Jia-Cheng., Liu Wei-Sheng., Liu Ning., Zhang Yu-Ping., Zhang Yu-Jun., Xu Ming., Zhang Qiu-Ping., Ma Xiao-
Xue., Zhao Hai-Juan., Wang Bi-Jun., Liu Shuo
Liaoning Institute of Pomology, Xiongyue, Yingkou City, China

The common apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is a widely distributed deciduous fruit tree with a long
history of cultivation in China, boasting diverse genetic resources and unique flavor. Apricot fruits are
rich in nutrients and highly valued by consumers for their vibrant color and taste. This study aims to
evaluate apricot fruit aroma using electronic nose technology and genetic diversity analysis. The
research explores the impact of flesh textures, geographical origins, flesh and surface colors on
aroma, aiming to identify germplasms with unique aroma characteristics. An AIRSENSE PEN3
electronic nose with 10 metal oxide sensors was utilized for aroma analysis. While electronic nose
technology shows promise, differentiating apricot varieties based on flesh textures proved
challenging. Future research will focus on more precise detection methods, such as gas
chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‒MS) and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry
(LC‒MS), for accurate aroma analysis.

Keywords: apricot; electronic nose; fruit aroma;

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Session 6
Breeding and evaluation of
cultivars and rootstocks

K6
Apricot and plum breeding challenges

David Ruiz, CEBAS-CSIC, Department of Plant Breeding, Fruit Breeding Group, Campus Universitario de
Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain, druiz@cebas.csic.es

Apricot and plum are two of the fruit crops of greatest socioeconomic importance worldwide. The
sustainability and profitability of these crops depend largely on varietal innovation to satisfy the
needs of farmers, but also on the other actors involved in the agri-food chain such as industry,
marketers and consumers. Although there are certain specific breeding objectives for apricot and
plum, with differences existing even between European plum and Japanese plum, and different
objectives depending on the destination of the fruit (fresh, dried or processed), there are several
common challenges to be addressed both today and in the near future. Among these, the following
are of note: i) adaptation to climate change, especially in warm areas where releasing low or very low
chill requirements varieties is a priority; ii) resistance to viruses, viroids and other pathologies,
particularly to sharka disease (PPV-M, PPV-D and other strains and mutations); iii) floral self-
compatibility which guarantees good productivity, since there remains much room for improvement
in this topic, especially in plum species; iv) fruit quality for marketer-exporters, consumers and the
industry. From a methodological point of view, despite the efforts made in recent years in the field of
genomics, the reality is that breeding programs are still being developed according to classic
methodology, with only the incorporation of MAS for some traits such as floral compatibility and
resistance/susceptibility to sharka in apricot, and fruit skin color in Japanese plum. Of further note is
the loss of genetic diversity in most breeding program. The optimization of breeding programs must
involve expanding the genetic background of the parents used, the use of new massive phenotyping
tools (high-throughput phenotyping) and the implementation of new genomic tools such as genomic
selection and MAS for key traits.

Keywords: Apricot, plum, adaptation, productivity, diseases resistance, fruit quality, genetic diversity,
genomic selection, high-throughput phenotyping, cultivar innovation

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O6.1
Forty years of prune breeding at UC Davis

Ted M. DeJong, Department of Plant Sciences, Mail Stop II, UC Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616-8683,
United States of America; tmdejong@ucdavis.edu
Sarah Castro, Plant Sciences Department, UC Davis, One Sh, Davis CA 95616, United States of America;
scastro@ucdavis.edu

Forty years ago, California prune industry representatives requested that I develop a prune breeding
program using the breeding expertise of my staff associate, James Doyle. Jim had previously worked
for a fruit tree breeder and understood the fundamentals of fruit tree breeding. At the time, the
California prune industry was dependent on a single prune cultivar (‘Improved French’) and was
expanding its acreage. The industry was primarily interested in extending the harvest season to make
more efficient use of harvesting machinery and drying facilities. Previous genetic research had
indicated that it should be possible to accomplish this goal using natural variation in the progeny of
‘Improved French’. However, that cultivar proved to be an unacceptable parent and never produced
horticulturally productive offspring. Thus, in 1985 we began collecting and evaluating Prunus
domestica cultivars that displayed fruit quality characteristics that might be aligned with desired
prune quality characteristics. This included nine clones that had been developed in France. Over the
past forty years recurrent selection has been used, based on the phenotypic qualities of the offspring
produced from crosses of the original collection of individual cultivars. Several new cultivars have
been released from this program but, up to now, none have satisfied the needs of the California
prune industry. However, now we have developed a breeding population capable of producing new
fruit types with exceptional dried fruit characteristics suitable for commercial production. An
example new cultivar is ‘UC G2S-8’ (‘UC-Yolo GoldTM’). This is a new yellow-fruited prune cultivar
that was recently released from this program. It is distinguished by its exceptional dried fruit flavor.
We currently have identified several additional selections that are being planted in large-scale field
trials to verify their suitability for mechanical harvesting, drying, processing and pitting, as well as
consumer acceptance. Some of these selections can obtain very high soluble solids contents ( > 30
Brix) and low dry-away ratios (~2.3 – 2.7), two industry priorities. Forty years of hard work is
beginning to pay off!

O6.2
Ideotyping: a new approach already developed for maximizing the impact of
the research activities conducted on apricot in France

David Tricon, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; david.tricon@inrae.fr

Sandrine Codarin, CTIFL Centre de Lanxade 28 route des Nebouts 24130 PRIGONRIEUX, France ;
sandrine.codarin@ctifl.fr
Muriel Millan, AOP Pêches et Abricots de France, France
Julien Ruesch, CTIFL Centre de Balandran, 751 chemin de Balandran, 30127 Bellegarde, France ;
julien.ruesch@ctifl.fr
Guillaume Roch, CEP INNOVATION, 23 rue Jean Baldassini, 69364 Lyon Cedex 7, France;
guillaume.roch@inrae.fr
Laurent Brun, INRAE, UERI Gotheron, 460 chemin de Gotheron, 26320 Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence, France ;
laurent.brun@inrae.fr
Jean-Marc Audergon, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; jean-marc.audergon@inrae.fr

The apricot, as most of temperate fruit species, is characterized by a long vegetative cycle, and a high
level of heterozygozyty. These two characteristics are both an advantage in term of adaptability and

69
a disavantage for implementing new adapted cultivars due to the high amount of expected
recombination events. Concurrently the number of traits under selection, or which have to be
integrated in the cultivation system, is also expected to influence the choice to be implemented.
In a first instance a common set of traits constituted by production, productivity and fruit quality was
integrated by the evaluators and by the breeders, the impact of the climatic changes and the
evolution of the regulation policies to better integrate agroecology induced a huge pressure onto the
traits with more attention given to adaptability and reduction of chemicals.
In order to address this new paradigm a join workshop has been organized to precisely highlight the
traits to be taken in charge on prospective bases for maximizing the impact of the research activities
and for organizing the prioritization of the actions on common bases between researchers and fruit
growers.
A three phase “Ideotyping” workshop associating growers, breeders, advisers, evaluators, and
researchers has been set up:
- in a first stage, the whole set of useful traits for the industry has been established,
- in a second stage, a prioritization of the traits according to the cultivation system has been
organized,
- in a third stage, based on the advances in the cultivation system and on the genetic resources
available including the knowledge of the inheritance of the traits, a repartition of the traits
between
o those able to be taken in charge through cultural practices constituting the key bases of a
‘cultural ideotype’, they could be implemented quite rapidly by the practitioners even on
the actual orchards,
o from those which have to be managed through the introduction of new genetic pool by the
breeders constituting the ‘varietal ideotypes’, they will be implemented on long time run
bases due to the timeframe for elaborating the elite material and then to perform the
introgression of the given traits into a “marketable” cultivar.
That ideotyping approach offers
- a common base to analyze the present situation and to prioritize the different actions for
addressing on objective and transparent bases the prospective objectives of the fruit
growers,
- and organize around the common objectives the research activities both on cultural practices
and genetic improvement bases.

O6.3
Commercial cultivation in California and volatile components of ‘Green Gage’
plum (Prunus domestica L.)

Andrew Mariani, 1615 Half Road, Morgan Hill CA 95037, United States of America; andy.mariani@yahoo.com
David Karp, 274 Ashdale Place, Los Angeles, CA 90049-2431, United States of America; dkarp@ucr.edu
Anne Plotto, U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory, 2001 South Rock Road, Fort Pierce FL 34945, United States
of America; anne.plotto@usda.gov

‘Green Gage’ and closely related cultivars of European plum (Prunus domestica L.) have long been
prized for their sweet, intense, and distinctive flavor, and are grown commercially in Europe. In the
United States ‘Green Gage’ has been present since the 18th century, but has never been
commercially important. A small-scale planting was established in 2006 in Morgan Hill, California,
USA, to evaluate the scions, rootstocks, horticultural practices, harvest practices, postharvest
techniques, and marketing potential for commercial production of ‘Green Gage’. Among the major
challenges were insufficient winter chill and lack of knowledge of the cultivars locally adapted for
cross-pollination. The cultivar sold as ‘Bavay’s Green Gage’ in the United States was virtually identical
to ‘Green Gage’, and thus not true to type. A gage hybrid, ‘Golden Transparent’, is productive and

70
has excellent fruit quality, fresh and dried, but the fruit is too soft for shipping fresh. Common plum
rootstocks perform well under California conditions. Rest breaking agents can enhance production.
The presence of multiple pollenizer cultivars, abundant bees, and multiple applications of pollen
from pollen-compatible cultivars directly on ‘Green Gage’ flowers enhanced fruit set. ‘Green Gage’
fruits sell for high prices at local markets, both for fresh use and for processing, and long-distance
shipments to commercial wholesalers are possible if the cold chain is rigorously maintained. ‘Green
Gage’ fruits analyzed at the U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce, Florida averaged 26
ºBrix and 0.536% citric acid. Thirty-three compounds were identified with > 85% probability by the
NIST library. The C-6 aldehydes, (E)-2-hexenal, hexanal, 3-hexenal, 1-hexanol, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol and
2,4-(E,E)-hexadienal, comprised the majority of the compounds and were found in all the
samples/replications. 1-Butanol, pentanal, (E)-2-pentenal, heptanal, benzaldehyde, butyl butanoate
and phenylacetaldehyde were also found in all the replications. This was the first published analysis
of ‘Green Gage’ volatile components.

O6.4
Breeding for special traits in European plum by intra- and interspecific
hybridisation

Michael Neumüller, Bayerisches Obstzentrum, Am Sübach 1, 85399 Hallbergmoos, Germany; nm@bayoz.de

Though the range of fruit colours, sizes and shapes within the Prunus domestica species is very wide,
for many decades the blue, medium-sized plum was the most demanded plum fruit in Central
Europe. Recently, the market has been receptive to fruit with special internal and external
characteristics. The use of historical varieties is often not a solution in commercial cultivation due to
poor fruit quality, susceptibility to heat damage or their susceptibility to the Scharka virus. Since
2014, the Bavarian Centre of Pomology and Fruit Breeding's breeding programme has been
increasingly looking for Prunus domestica varieties with special characteristics.
To this end, numerous hybridisations have been carried out between Prunus domestica varieties with
special fruit traits such as Reine Claudes, mirabelles and autochthonous primitive form. Additionally,
genuine hybrids between Prunus domestica and Prunus armeniaca have been produced. The latter is
not a trivial endeavour, as there is often cross incompatibility. Systematic crossing experiments have
made it possible to select individual Prunus domestica genotypes that are highly compatible with
Prunus armeniaca varieties and can therefore be successfully used for interspecific hybridisations.
The interspecific hybrids bear fruit with intermediate characteristics between European plum and
apricot.
New European plum varieties bearing fruits with colourful, firm, sweet, juicy and crisp fruits were
obtained, some of them with Sharka resistance due to hypersensitivity to the Plum pox virus. Three
of them are being released as new varieties.

P6.1
'UC G2S-8' (UC-Yolo GoldTM'), a new prune cultivar released by Univ.
California Davis

Sarah Castro, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA, 1 Shields Ave 1035
Wickson Hall, Davis CA 95616, United States of America; scastro@ucdavis.edu
Theodore DeJong, 1 Shields ave, 1035 Wickson Hall, Davis 95616 CA, United States of America;
tmdejong@ucdavis.edu

71
‘UC G2S-8’ (‘UC-Yolo GoldTM’) is a new prune cultivar developed within the University of California
Davis Prune Breeding Program for use in the dried plum/prune and/or the fresh fruit industries. The
yellow fruit of ‘UC-Yolo GoldTM’ is excellent fresh and dries to a high-quality prune with a superior
fruity taste. The dried fruit is oval, and similar to ‘Improved French’ (the California industry standard),
yet is unique in that it is yellow skinned when fresh, and dries to a deep mahogany, that darkens in
storage. ‘UC-Yolo GoldTM’ fruit is slightly larger than ‘Improved French’ and can attain soluble solids
contents of 25 oBrix at normal crop loads. It harvests in late August or early September, one to two
weeks after ‘Improved French’ prune, thus spreading the harvest window for prune growers in the
dried fruit industry. The fresh fruit can store for more than three weeks and, due to its yellow color,
can be easily distinguished from other plums currently on the market in California. The dried fruit is
easily distinguished by its superior fruity flavor compared with ‘Improved French’. ‘UC G2S-8’ (‘UC-
Yolo GoldTM’) was created by a cross made in 1999 between two University of California Davis
breeding program selections. The fruit of this cultivar has been observed in research blocks located in
both the Northern and Southern central valleys of California over the past thirteen years. The trees
consistently bear good crops of high-quality fruit that can be mechanically harvested with minimal
damage. Dried fruit of this new prune cultivar stands out because of its outstanding flavor and
consistency when processed and pitted, and overwhelming acceptance by consumers.

P6.2
Preliminary evaluations on a new apricot selection obtained in central Italy

Susanna Bartolini, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy;
susanna.bartolini@santannapisa.it
Calogero Iacona, Via del Borghetto 80, Pisa, Italy; c.iacona@unipi.it
Hafsa El Horri, Via del Borghetto 80, Pisa, Italy; h.elhorri@unipi.it
Rossano Massai, Via del Borghetto 80, Pisa, Italy; r.massai@unipi.it
Damiano Remorini, Via del Borghetto 80, Pisa, Italy; d.remorini@unipi.it

Pluriannual investigations performed on several apricot cultivars and selections, at two Italian
university institutions, have showed a high variability of fruit quality traits and antioxidant properties.
Some genotypes have stood out for significant pomological and nutraceutical fruit-profiling,
representing a tool for breeding strategies to innovate marketing policies. Currently, an increase of
the nutritional quality of fruits is one of the main breeder’s intents for meeting the consumer's needs
which are addressed toward foods with high health value. Thus, parents with high antioxidant
capacity, such as the apricot selection 7C 20-3 (Haggit x Prunus brigantina Vill.) and Harcot cultivar,
were chosen for crossing, using the traditional breeding technology of emasculation and hand
pollination. Hybrid seedlings (7C 20-3 x Harcot) were then grafted onto Myrabolan 29 C rootstock,
and the plants were transplanted in experimental fields located in different Tuscan provinces (Italy).
Observations were conducted on vegetative characters, flowering, ripening period, quality and
sensory profile of fruits. As concerns the quality parameters, pomological traits, physical and
chemical analysis, total antioxidant capacity and total phenols content were determined. The new
selection showed several interesting attributes including, in addition to the antioxidant power, late
and intense flowering, followed by a high fruit-set. The ripening period is at the end of June-early July
and fruits are medium-sized, orange-colored with excellent flavor and taste. Although further
observations are needed to validate the biological and agronomical behavior, this apricot genotype
could be suggested for experimental trials in different cultivation areas.

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P6.3
Advancing Prunus salicina Lindl. breeding strategies through genomic data:
Exploring two genomic prediction methodologies in Japanese plum

Igor Alejandro Pacheco Cruz, Pasaje Dos 2784, Recoleta, Santiago 8431479, Chile; igor.pacheco@inta.uchile.cl
Paulina Ballesta, El Libano 5524, MACUL 7830490, Chile; paulina.ballesta@inta.uchile.cl
Arnau Fiol, El Libano 5524, MACUL 7830490, Chile; arnau.fiol@inta.uchile.cl
Rodrigo Infante, Av. Santa Rosa 11315, La Pintana, Chile; rinfante@uchile.cl

In Chile, fresh Japanese plum exports have increased from 152 to 188 thousand tons since 2015. In
this context, several plum breeding programs have focused on releasing new varieties to compete in
the international market. However, traditional genetic improvement of fruit trees is time-consuming
and laborious. Therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies that increase the efficiency of breeding
programs to enable the selection of superior genotypes at a shorter time. Genome sequencing
technologies have facilitated the development of strategies to assist in agricultural, forestry, and
horticultural genetic improvement programs, such as Genomic Selection/Prediction (GS).
Consequently, the present study aimed to evaluate Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP)-based
methodologies currently used in crops for identifying promising selections through phenotypic trait
prediction. A panel of 192 Japanese plum trees (from ~ 30 full-sibling families) was genotyped using ~
10,000 SNPs. Parallelly, this panel was also assessed for three key phenotypic traits: the beginning of
harvest date (HVD), the soluble solids content of fruit flesh (SSC), and the weight of the fruits (WEI).
Genomic and phenotypic data were employed to develop genomic prediction (GS) models, which
exhibited a moderate predictive ability (PA) ranging from 0.34 to 0.67. Remarkably, an integrated
analysis of quantitative trait loci (QTL) detection and GS approaches exhibited a PA up to 8% higher
than the traditional GS approach. The findings provide valuable information for implementing
strategies based on GS that facilitate the selection of plus trees and the early development of new
high-productivity Japanese plum varieties. On the other hand, a larger population of plum individuals
could be required to know its implementation on a larger scale.

Founding: FONDECYT N°3220494, FONDECYT N°1191446 and IDeA ID22I10266.

P6.4
Comparing modern apricot varieties of different origins with the Czech
varieties

Tomas Necas, Mendel University, Faculty of Horticulture, Department of Fruit Science, 69144 Lednice, Czech
Republic; tomas.necas@mendelu.cz
Eliska Zezulová, Department of Fruit Science, Faculty of Horticulture, Mendel University in Brno, 69144 Lednice,
Czech Republic; eliska.zezulova@mendelu.cz
Martina Mrázová, Department of Fruit Science, Faculty of Horticulture, Mendel University in Brno, 69144
Lednice, Czech Republic; xgotting@node.mendelu.cz
Tomas Kiss, Department of Fruit Science, Faculty of Horticulture, Mendel University in Brno, 69144 Lednice,
Czech Republic; tomas.kiss@mendelu.cz
Ivo Ondráek, Department of Fruit Science, Faculty of Horticulture, Mendel University in Brno, 69144 Lednice,
Czech Republic; ivo.ondrasek@mendelu.cz
Pavel Gala, Department of Fruit Science, Faculty of Horticulture, Mendel University in Brno, 69144 Lednice,
Czech Republic; pavel@zgalovychsadu.cz

The last ten years have been revolutionary for the cultivation of apricots in the Czech Republic (CZ).
Not only is the consequence of climate change negatively manifested in the apricot growing areas in
the form of almost regular occurrence of late spring frosts of varying intensity, but the changes are

73
also observable in the area of varietal composition. From a certain point of view, these factors
contribute to the area apricot cultivation in the Czech Republic both positively and negatively.
Climate change and related phenomena are clearly a limiting factor for apricot cultivation in the
Czech Republic. With the change in the variety composition new modern plantings with varieties
such as 'Sefora', 'Koolgat', 'Bergeval', 'Digat', 'Anegat', 'Congat' etc. are being established. Instead of
uninteresting, typically Czech, orange-colored apricots, but with an excellent aromatic flesh,
interesting, intensely colored varieties with red-colored skin with dull sweet flesh are being
introduced, such as 'Rubista', 'Totem', 'Bolero', 'Mediabel', 'Rougecot', 'Rubissia', 'Rubely', etc.
Varieties with a harvest period that is completely untypical for apricots such as the late varieties of
the Carmingo® series, e.g. 'Farhial', 'Farlis', 'Fardao', 'Farclo', etc. are being cultivated. In the vast
majority, the main breeding goals are mainly the appearance and the harvest period. This results in
many cases in lack of interest among hobby growers due to a decrease in the internal quality of the
fruits - especially in the Czech Republic, of the desired aromaticity which is typical for varieties such
as Velkopavlovická or Hungarian best. Other breeding goals include resistance to PPV, self-
compatibility and technically challenging breeding for late flowering or tolerance to ESFY
phytoplasma, etc. In our experiment, we therefore focused on comparing selected characteristics
and indicators of typical and new varieties of apricots of Czechoslovakian or Czech (CZ) origin with
the currently available assortment of modern world varieties. The aim of the study was to evaluate
the differences, describe breeding trends and select potentially interesting and suitable varieties for
the current growing conditions in the Czech Republic.

P6.5
Evaluation of the main apricot varieties grown in Romania

Vladut Alexandru Oprita, Research Station Fruit Growing Constanta, No. 25 Pepinierei Street, Valu lui Traian,
907300 Constanta, Romania; olaviani@yahoo.co.uk
Leinar Septar, Pepinierei 25, 907300 Valu lui Traian, Romania; septarleinar71@gmail.com
Cristina Moale, Pepinierei 25, 907300 Valu lui Traian, Romania; moalecristina@yahoo.com

The apricot breeding program in Romania has a tradition of over 60 years. Dobrogea, being a
favorable region for apricot culture, was the engine of this program to obtain new hybrids in order to
select the most valuable elites, subsequently passing through specific tests, obtaining apricot
varieties with a high degree of profitability. Thus, in the year 2000, RSFG had more than 30 varieties
of apricot in its fields, among which: ‘Sulina’, ‘Sulmona’, ‘Selena’, ‘NJA 42’, ‘NJA 19’, ‘Neptun’,
‘Mamaia’, ‘Litoral’, ‘Fortuna’, and ‘Euxin’ were highlighted. The prononced climate changes over the
last twenty years required the selection of these apricot varieties from a number of more than 30
varieties to 10-14 varieties that correspond to the new environmental and climate requirements.
Decreases in production were observed from an average of 18t/ha for varieties such as ‘Fortuna’,
‘NJA 42’, ‘Euxin’, and ‘Sulmona’ to productions of 2t/ha for the listed varieties. Among the limiting
factors, return frosts and late frosts were the main factor, to which we can add attacks by
increasingly virulent pathogens, lack of atmospheric humidity and others. However, apricot varieties
such as ‘Elmar’, ‘Auraș’, ‘Augustin’, ‘Orizont’, ‘De Valu’, ‘Ceres’, ‘Danubiu’ succeed in the same
environmental conditions to continuously have positive results with average productions of over 12 –
16 t/ha in years favorable for apricot cultivation. The study was conducted between 2014-2023 at
Research Station for Fruit Growing Constanta, which is located in a favorable area for apricot
cultivation. This area is characterized by a semi-arid climate, with annual average temperatures of
11.5°C, increasingly mild winters and frequent late frosts in March-April which have affected the
flowering of apricots in recent years.

74
P6.6
Breezing: a new dedicated Italian plum breeding program

Alessandro Tagliabue, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133, Milano, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy;
alessandro.tagliabue@unimi.it
Irina Baccichet, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133, Milano, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy;
irina.baccichet@unimi.it
Remo Mario Chiozzotto, VIa Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133, 20133 Milano, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy;
remo.chiozzotto@unimi.it
Gianluca Biffi, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133 Milano, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy;
gianluca.biffi.95@outlook.com
Elisa Calastri, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133 Milano, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy;
elisa.calastri@unimi.it
Debora Tura, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133 Milano, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy;
debora.tura@unimi.it
Daniele Bassi, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, 20133 Milano, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy;
daniele.bassi@unimi.it
Marco Cirilli, Via Giovanni Celoria, 2, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy; marco.cirilli@unimi.it

Plum, including Japanese (Prunus salicina) and European (Prunus domestica) species, is attracting a
remarkable breeding interest to renew cultivation, attested by several ongoing programs throughout
Europe, from either public institution or private companies. Among the most crucial ideotypes,
improving environmental adaptation, resistance to diseases (particularly Plum Pox Virus (PPV) and
brown rot) and enhancing fruit quality are the most impelling. Nonetheless, self-incompatibility and
low seed germinability rates has hampered the genetic improvement and the selection of novel plum
varieties over years, stressing the importance of testing different breeding approaches to
characterize available germplasm resources. “Breezing” is a newly born Italian private breeding
program -under the scientific support of the University of Milan- that aims of selecting novel
accessions with higher marketability either in terms of consumers’ degree of liking, agronomic
management, or plant royalties’ costs. The program has generated more than 50 controlled-crosses
during seasons 2022 and 2023, using plum commercial varieties, advanced selections, Japanese plum
× apricot hybrids and PPV-resistant apricot accessions. In addition, self-crosses were carried out in
the field to test each accessions’ self-compatibility. Given the low germinability obtained from
classical seed stratification techicniques (1.6%), an in vitro protocol was implemented, raising rates to
about 17%, consistent with other previous literature’s evidences. Our preliminary results are the
foundation to achieve phenotypic and genotypic information in forthcoming years also under the
possibility of developing markers-assisted selection in plum.

P6.7
Temperature requirements and pollination needs of interspecific plumcot
hybrids

Brenda Guerrero, Facultad de Ciencias Agrotecnológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Campus

universitario sn, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, 31160, Mexico; brguerrero@uach.mx
Engracia Guerra, rea de Fruticultura Mediterránea, CICYTEX, Finca La Orden, A-V km 374, 06187 Badajoz
Guadajira, Spain; mariaengracia.guerra@juntaex.es
Javier Rodrigo García, Departamento de Ciencia Vegetal, CITA, Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain;
jrodrigo@aragon.es

The cultivar renewal in Japanese plum has led to new releases of interspecific hybrids with novel
agronomic and fruit quality traits from different breeding programs worldwide. In the new releases,

75
it is necessary to know the temperature requirements to predict their adaptation to each cultivation
area. In this study, the temperature requirements and the pollination needs of four new plumcot
cultivars: Fall Fiesta, Flavor Fall, Sweet Blaze and Sweet Pixie have been evaluated. The plant material
was collected in Zaragoza (northeast Spain) over two years. For the determination of temperature
requirements, endodormancy release was established by monitoring shoots sequentially collected
during the winter at controlled conditions. Chilling accumulation was calculated according to three
models: chilling hours (CH), chilling units (CU) and chilling portions (CP). Heat requirements were
calculated as growing degree hours (GDH) accumulated from the date of chilling fulfilment to the
date when 50% of the flowers were open. For the determination of pollination requirements, self-
(in)compatibility was determined by the observation of pollen tube growth in the pistil of self-
pollinated flowers using fluorescence microscopy. The S-genotypes of all cultivars were identified by
amplifying the S-RNase alleles. The chilling requirements ranged 22.9-48 CP (228-679 CH, 341-812
CU) and the heat requirements ranged from 5577 to 8135 GDH. The cultivars Flavor Fall, Sweet Blaze
and Sweet Pixie were self-incompatible, while ‘Fall Fiesta’ behaved as self-compatible. Most of the S
alleles identified in these interspecific hybrids corresponded to S alleles described in Japanese plum
cultivars, except for a new allele (Sβ, Sweet Pixie). These results provide information to predict the
possible adaptation of these cultivars to the climatic conditions of each growing area, as well as the
need for cross-pollination for self-incompatible cultivars.

P6.8
Performance of advanced Norwegian plum selections in a northern climate

Mekjell Meland, Nibio Ullensvang, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, N-5781 Lofthus, Norway;
mekjell.meland@nibio.no
Oddmund Froynes, NIBIO Ullensvang, Ullensvangvegen 1005, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research,
5781 Lofthus, Norway; oddmund.froynes@nibio.no
Milica Fotiric Aksic, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia; fotiric@agrif.bg.ac.rs

European plum cultivars are grown along the fjord areas of Western Norway and around lakes in
Eastern Norway at latitude around 60° north, where the most favorable agro-climatic conditions
prevail. The aim of this plum cultivar trial was to evaluate recently released plum cultivars and
premium selections from Norwegian breeding programs for pomological and chemical
characteristics, to identify the most important quality parameters and to select cultivars with
desirable traits for the modern market in Norway. The trial was conducted at NIBIO Ullensvang
between 2013 and 2021 and included 4 selections and a named cultivar from the private breeder Mr.
E. Ruud, Søgne and 3 plum selections from the breeding company Graminor, Njøs. The trees were
propagated on rootstock Wavit and planted as green whips in the fall of 2013. The planting distance
was 2 x 4 m and each cultivar and selection was multiplied 8 – 10 times with one tree per plot. The
trees were trained as free spindle. Pruning took place in early spring during dormancy. Every year,
the trees were thinned to approximately 7 cm between fruitlets at the end of June or beginning of
July. The differences in full bloom between the selections were on average between May 5 and 11.
Due to the general fruit quality, and productivity of the trees, the selections NPr. 458 and Anne (R21)
were chosen for fresh consumption and can be recommended for further commercial cultivation
trials. The Graminor cross NPr 458 (open pollinated Jubileum) was mature between Victoria and
Valor. It has abundant flowering, early and high yields and a large fruit size (66 g). The fruit shape is
mostly round with red overcolor, high soluble content and medium acidity, resulting in a balanced
and good taste. The cultivar Anne (R21) (Victoria open pollinated) from the private Norwegian
breeder has an early ripening window like Opal. It has an early and abundant flowering. However,
due to the early flowering and lack of flowering pollinators, the harvest is likely to be moderate. The
elongated fruit looks good, is large (74 g), has a red-blue color and a mild flavor. Compatible
pollinizers will probably improve fruit set.

76
P6.9
Breeding for low chilling requirements apricot and Japanese plum cultivars
adapted to warm areas

David Ruiz, CEBAS-CSIC, Department of Plant Breeding, Fruit Breeding Group, Campus Universitario de
Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain; druiz@cebas.csic.es
Jose Egea, CEBAS-CSIC, Department of Plant Breeding, Fruit Breeding Group, Campus Universitario de
Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain; jegea@cebas.csic.es
Manuel Rubio, CEBAS-CSIC, Department of Plant Breeding, Fruit Breeding Group, Campus Universitario de
Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain; mrubio@cebas.csic.es
Jesus Lopez-Alcolea, CEBAS-CSIC, Department of Plant Breeding, Fruit Breeding Group, Campus Universitario de
Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain; jlopez-alcolea@cebas.csic.es
Juan Alfonso Salazar, CEBAS-CSIC, Department of Plant Breeding, Fruit Breeding Group, Campus Universitario
de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain; jasalazar@cebas.csic.es
Federico Dicenta, CEBAS-CSIC, Department of Plant Breeding, Fruit Breeding Group, Campus Universitario de
Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain; fdicenta@cebas.csic.es
Pedro Martínez-Gómez, CEBAS-CSIC, Department of Plant Breeding, Fruit Breeding Group, Campus
Universitario de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain; pmartinez@cebas.csic.es
María Nicolás-Almansa, CEBAS-CSIC, Department of Plant Breeding, Fruit Breeding Group, Campus
Universitario de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain; mnicolas@cebas.csic.es
Álvaro Delgado, CEBAS-CSIC, Department of Plant Breeding, Fruit Breeding Group, Campus Universitario de
Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain
Jose Antonio Campoy, EEAD-CSIC, Avenida Montañana, 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain; jacampoy@eead.csic.es
Jose Cos, IMIDA, Department of Biotechnology, Genomics and Plant Breeding, C. Mayor, s/n, 30150 La Alberca,
Murcia, Spain; josee.cos@carm.es
Federico Garcia, IMIDA, Department of Biotechnology, Genomics and Plant Breeding, C. Mayor, s/n, 30150 La
Alberca, Murcia, Spain; federico.garcia@carm.es
Antonio Carrillo, IMIDA, Department of Biotechnology, Genomics and Plant Breeding, C. Mayor, s/n, 30150 La
Alberca, Murcia, Spain; antonio.carrillo4@carm.es
Alfonso Guevara, IMIDA, Department of Biotechnology, Genomics and Plant Breeding, C. Mayor, s/n, 30150 La
Alberca, Murcia, Spain; alfonso.guevara@carm.es

Adaptation to current and future climatic conditions is one of the main limiting factors for apricot
and Japanese plum crops, especially in warm areas. In these areas, climate change is producing an
increase in average temperature, which leads to a decrease in chill accumulation, with a notable
impact on the phenology and adaptation of cultivated varieties. In this context, the CEBAS-CSIC in
Murcia (Spain) is developing an apricot breeding program, and more recently a Japanese plum
breeding program in coordination with IMIDA, in order to obtain very low chilling requirements
cultivars to allow their adaptation to warm areas. Other key traits addressed in these breeding
programs are floral self-compatibility, early ripening time, fruit quality and resistance to sharka virus
(PPV). Breeding for low chilling requirements has been developed on different steps: i) germplasm
compilation characterized by low or extra-low chilling requirements, including natural mutants
identified in these species; ii) choice of parents and design of intervarietal crosses; iii) chilling
requirements characterization of advanced selections and new varieties. On the other hand, an
exhaustive agro-climatic characterization of the growing areas has been carried out to identify the
adaptation suitability of the different genotypes. As a result of the breeding programs, in recent
years the new apricot cultivars 'Cebasred' and 'Primorosa', with chilling requirements of around 38
portions, have been released and transferred to the production sector, as well as the new Japanese
plum cultivars 'Lucía myrtea' and 'Victoria myrtea', with 30 and 26 portions respectively. These new
cultivars, in addition to other interesting traits, have very low chilling requirements and therefore
they are well adapted to warm areas. Moreover, a set of advanced selections has been released in
both species with even lower chilling requirements, which are in the final stage of evaluation and
selection.

77
P6.10
New Japanese plum selections from IMIDA/CEBAS-CSIC breeding program

Alfonso Guevara Gazquez, C Mayor, sn. 30150 La Alberca Murcia, 30150 Murcia, Spain;
alfonso.guevara@carm.es
Manuel Rubio, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain, Murcia,
España; mrubio@cebas.csic.es
Jesús Lopez-Alcolea, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain,
Murcia, España; jlopez-alcolea@cebas.csic.es
Juan Alfonso Salazar, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain,
Murcia, Elige un país; jasalazar@cebas.csic.es
María Nicolás-Almansa, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia,
Spain, Murcia, España; mnicolas@cebas.csic.es
José E. Cos, IMIDA, Department of Biotechnology, Genomics, and Plant Breeding, CMayor, sn, La Alberca
Murcia, 30150 Murcia Murcia, España; josee.cos@carm.es
Federico García, IMIDA, Department of Biotechnology, Genomic, and Plant Breeding, CMayor, sn, La Alberca
Murcia, 30150 Murcia Murcia, España; federico.garcia@carm.es
Antonio Carrillo, IMIDA, Department of Biotechnology, Genomic, and Plant Breeding, CMayor, sn, La Alberca
Murcia, 30150 Murcia Murcia, España; antonio.carrillo4@carm.es
María Carmen Ballesteros, IMIDA, Department of Biotechnology, Genomics, and Plant Breeding, CMayor, sn, La
Alberca Murcia, 30150 Murcia Murcia, España; mcarmen.ballesteros2@carm.es
Domingo López, IMIDA, Department of Biotechnology, Genomics, and Plant Breeding, CMayor, sn, La Alberca
Murcia, 30150 Murcia Murcia, España; domingo.lopez2@carm.es
David Ruiz, Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain, 30100
Murcia, España; druiz@cebas.csic.es

IMIDA and CEBAS-CSIC are developing since 2011 a Japanese plum-breeding program aimed to
release new cultivars characterized by the following characteristics: i) low chilling requirements that
allow their adaptation to warm areas; ii) early ripening time as far as possible (May-June), which
would lead to a competitive advantage in the market; iii) self-compatibility; iv) high-quality fruit in
terms of flavour, attractive skin and flesh colour, especially focused on red flesh, high firmness and
good postharvest behaviour; v) resistance to sharka disease (plum pox virus, PPV) including
interspecific crosses between resistant apricot cultivars and Japanese plum. As a result of more than
130 crosses, around 7000 seedlings have been evaluated to date. In a first stage of the breeding
program, we released 11 advanced selections; two of them were registered in 2020 as new cultivars,
‘Lucia Myrtea’ and ‘Victoria Myrtea’, which are already being cultivated. More recently, we have
released a new set of 12 advanced selections (CIR-0715-62, CIR-1615-67, CIR-0615-9, CIR-0515-10,
CIR-0115-105, CIR-0415-29, CIR-0214-45, CIR-0214-33, CIR-0115-105, CIR-0115-106, CIR-1114-28,
CIR-0918-7) which combine most of the good aforementioned features. This set of new varieties is
characterized by very low chilling requirements, which ensures its good adaptation in warm areas;
they cover a range of ripening dates from May 15 to July 15; all of them are characterized by high-
quality fruit, most of them with red flesh; and some of the new varieties are self-compatible, which is
an important milestone in the breeding of the Japanese plum species. This work shows the
characteristics of the more recently released advanced selections.

P6.11
CEBASfruit®. The Platform for the transfer of new cultivars from CEBAS-CSIC
breeding programs

Jesús López-Alcolea, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Edif N25, 30100 Murcia, Spain; jlopez-
alcolea@cebas.csic.es
David Ruiz, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Ed 25, 30100 Murcia Murcia, Spain; druiz@cebas.csic.es

78
Manuel Rubio, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Ed 25, 30100 Murcia Murcia, Spain; mrubio@cebas.csic.es
Federico Dicenta, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Ed 25, 30100 Murcia Murcia, Spain;
fdicenta@cebas.csic.es

‘'CEBASfruit®' is a digital platform, created by the CEBAS-CSIC Fruit Breeding Group for the
dissemination of results on new varieties of Apricot, Almond and Plum trees from the different
genetic improvement programs of the CEBAS-CSIC of Murcia (Spain). Through this platform, the
producer, processor and consumer sector is supported with the latest advances in fruits that satisfy
the needs required by the different parts of the agri-food chain of these crops.
The main base is the website www.cebasfruit.com where all the characteristics of the varieties
developed by the CEBAS-CSIC can be found.
Another function of this platform is to support and provide technical training in agronomic
management to growers and technicians involved in the production of stone fruit trees, especially
apricot trees.
In addition, 'CEBASfruit®' provides technical and logistical support for the supply of plant material
certified with the European certification for viruses, fungi and bacteria (Xylella spp. and
Xanthomonas spp.). For this, the CEBAS-CSIC has a greenhouse with complete insulation that
guarantees the initial plant material for nurseries.

P6.12
CEP INNOVATION & INRAE breeding program
Highlights on apricot varieties

Guy Clauzel, CEP INNOVATION, 23 rue Jean Baldassini, 69364 Lyon Cedex 7, France;
Guillaume Roch, CEP INNOVATION, 23 rue Jean Baldassini, 69364 Lyon Cedex 7, France;
guillaume.roch@inrae.fr
C.Pierru, CEP INNOVATION, 23 rue Jean Baldassini, 69364 Lyon Cedex 7, France; C.PIERRU@cepinnovation-
novadi.com
C Pitiot, CEP INNOVATION, 23 rue Jean Baldassini, 69364 Lyon Cedex 7, France; c.pitiot@cepinnovation-
novadi.com
E Grange, CEP INNOVATION, 23 rue Jean Baldassini, 69364 Lyon Cedex 7, France; e.grange@cepinnovation-
novadi.com
David Tricon, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; david.tricon@inrae.fr
Jean-Marc Audergon, INRAE - GAFL, 84143 Montfavet, France; jean-marc.audergon@inrae.fr

For almost 30 years, CEP INNOVATION, a company founded by French fruit nurseries, has been
working in close partnership with INRAE on the breeding program of several species such as apricot,
peach, cherry, plum and pear and their rootstocks.
INRAE focuses on upstream research work, inheritance of the traits of interest (susceptibility to pests
and diseases, production, phenology and fruit quality) and elaboration of progenitors in a pre-
breeding approach. This work makes it possible to constitute elite breeders and to develop molecular
markers for the identified regions of interest, in order to integrate them routinely into our program
and accelerate selection.
Complementary, CEP INNOVATION participates in the large-scale validation of molecular markers. It
is involved in the plant material selection program, from hybridization to the final selection carried
out via his experimentation network. CEP INNOVATION is also responsible for the protection of
varieties and the management of intellectual property rights. Finally, CEP INNOVATION organizes the
development, the sales and the implementation of a worldwide marketing strategy adapted to each
new variety.
Apricot selection is based on an extensive set of criteria. The evolution of the regulation of
phytosanitary products as well as climate change in an ever more demanding economic context are

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changing expectations. The selection program is based on 3 pillars which bring together the different
selection criteria.
- The first pillar gathers together all the parameters linked to plant agronomy: yield, tree architecture
and pedoclimatic adaptation. For the latter, the ability to flower with few hours of cold is observed
without bringing forward the flowering periods too much. Likewise, self-fertility has become an
important criterion. The extension of the production period should make it possible to spread out the
harvest period and thereby increase the supply on shelves over time.
- The second pillar concerns the characteristics of the fruit: excellent taste quality, good firmness,
long shelf life and an attractive visual appearance taking into account, among other things, the
segmentation of the skin color.
- The last pillar corresponds to the hardiness of trees in the face of different pests. Plum pox has
been the first pathogen targeted, but resistance to monilia and bacterial canker are now among the
priorities.
The strong collaboration between CEP INNOVATION and INRAE where each partner brings its
expertise, has made it possible to build a wide range of apricots. This range continues to be enriched
to respond to all these issues, particularly those of sustainability and adaptation to climates.

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Sponsors

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