IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERISATION OF BUD SPORTS IN APPLE (Malus × domestica BORKH
Loading...
Date
2021-11
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
UHF,NAUNI
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) is among the most diverse and economically important fruit species in the
family Rosaceae. Its popularity in terms of market demand is dependent on its nutritional value, broad health benefits and high
quality, which includes size, flavour, sweetness, texture as well as excellent peel colour. Apple as highly commercial temperate
zone crop in India, and breeding for horticuturally important traits and fruit quality is thus a major concern for plant breeders.
Genetic improvement by conventional methods is a very slow and cumbersome process owing to perennial nature, long juvenile
phase, heterozygosity, and sexual incompatibilities, in such cases spontaneous mutation can be used as speedy method of
improvement. Keeping the above in mind present investigation entitled “Identification and characterisation of bud sports in apple
(Malus x domestica Borkh.)” was undertaken during 2018- 2021. Field surveys were conducted in different orchards of Shimla,
Kinnaur, and Lahaul & Spiti districts of H.P. and efforts were made to identify bud sports in apple. Around 100 orchards were
examined, and over 10000 bearing trees were screened to locate bud sports relying on pre-selection criteria, resulted in the
identification of 19 bud sports that varied from their respective mother trees in one or more important traits. Out of nineteen 10
were early and solid coloured (AKM, GRK, KRT, KCS, PCS, PSK, VMK, SNR, TKL and DDK), six late colouring (SK2G, CK,
SK1, KAH-1, SLN, MNSR), one half red half green colouring (JCS), one late and distinctive fruit colouring (UKL) and one
Early, solid and unique fruit peel colour development (DSK) bud sports were observed in different orchards and marked for
further evaluation studies. In the current study, 50 genomic and 10 EST derived simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers were
used to determine differences between identified bud sports and their corresponding mother trees in order to validate the observed
variations in the bud sports out of 19 only 11 showed variations among bud sports and their mother plant. Out of all 19 identified
bud sports in current study, 11 bud sports (DSK, VMK, KCS, DDK, SK2G, PCS, SNR, MNSR, KRT, CK and SK1) showed the
genetic variations between bud sports and mother plants. Whereas, remaining 8 show no variation through SSR primers. These
bud sports may require more specific SSRs to validate the variation among them or these bud sports may be simply epigenetic
modifications. The identified bud sports were vegetatively propagated for further studies in future