Physicochemical and sensory characteristics of promising plum (Prunus domestica L.) genotypes bred at fruit research institute, Čačak

Five plum hybrids (38/62/70, IV/63/81, 32/21/87, 34/41/87 and 22/17/87) and newly released cultivar ‘Nada’, obtained by planned hybridisation and singled out within breeding programme at Fruit Research Institute, Čačak, were assessed for the main physical (fruit and stone weight and flesh percentage), chemical (soluble solids content, total and inverted sugars content, sucrose content, total acids content, pH value of fruit juice, ratio of soluble solids and total acids content and ratio of total sugars and total acids content) and sensorial (attractiveness, taste, aroma and consistency) traits compared with the standard cultivar ʻČačanska Lepoticaʼ. Results showed that the studied plum genotypes differed significantly in all of the assessed traits. Regarding the physical features, the best results were shown by hybrid 38/62/70, which had the highest fruit weight (56.92 g) and flesh percentage (96.91%), as well as by the new cultivar ‘Nada’, for which a larger fruit was observed in comparison to the standard (45.54 g and 42.24 g, respectively). Also, ‘Nada’ had better sensorial properties such as attractiveness, taste, aroma and consistency in relation to the other promising hybrids and the standard cultivar. From the aspect of all the studied sensorial characteristics, in addition to ‘Nada’, only hybrid 38/62/70 was aligned with the standard cultivar. Out of the studied genotypes, late ripening hybrid 22/17/87 had the best values of parameters of fruit chemical composition such as the soluble solids content (17.01%), total and inverted sugars contents (12.31% and 8.96%, respectively). The highest sucrose content (3.39%), pH value of fruit juice (3.51), as well as the highest ratio between soluble solids and total acids content (43.72) and ratio between total sugars and total acids content (32.58) were found in cultivar ‘Nada’. The highest total acids content (1.42%) was recorded in hybrid 32/21/87. Compared to ʻČačanska Lepoticaʼ, the same or better results in terms of the fruit chemical composition were determined in cultivar ‘Nada’ and hybrids 34/41/87 and 22/17/87. The study revealed existence of significant correlations between individual studied parameters of the fruit physical, chemical and sensorial properties

Determination of s-genotype in apple and sweet cherry cultivars released at fruit research institute, Cacak

Apples and sweet cherries are generally characterized by self-incompatibility, which is controlled by the multiallelic locus S with gametophytic action. Thus the identification of S-genotype represents crucial information for fruit breeders and growers. The aim of this study was to identify the S-genotype of two apple ('Cacanska Pozna' and 'Cadel') and two sweet cherry ('Asenova Rana' and 'Carna') cultivars developed at Fruit Research Institute, Cacak using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method with consensus and allele-specific primers. The S-genotype of apple cultivars 'Cacanska Pozna' (S7S9) and 'Cadel' (S2S7) were consistent with parental combinations 'Starking Delicious' (S9S28) x 'Jonathan' (S7S9) and 'Golden Delicious' (S2S3) x 'Jonathan' (S7S9), respectively. For sweet cherry cultivars 'Asenova Rana' ['Drogans Gelbe' (S1S5) x 'Majova Rana' (S1S4)] and 'Carna' ['Majova Rana' (S1S4) x 'Bigarreau de Schrecken' (S1S3)], S3S9 and S1S4 were identified respectively, suggesting that the reported pedigree is erroneous. The trueness-to-type of DNA samples of both sweet cherry cultivars was confirmed by comparison of cultivar samples from more than one site. Upon this testing, the remaining inconsistency indicated that aforementioned parentages of the sweet cherry cultivars were incorrect. These discrepancies could be the result of possible pollen contamination, or mistakes either in breeders recording or in seed processing and seedling production. The results of S-genotyping of apple and sweet cherry cultivars provide relevant information on correct assignment of these cultivars to cross-compatibility groups, which are important for cross design in developing new cultivar, as well as for orchard management in the efficient production of fruits