RESULTS OF 70 YEARS WORK TO BREAD NEW APPLE VARIETIES AND INTRODUCE THEM INTO PRODUCTION

The results of 70 years of apple breeding work at VNILSPK have been summed up. The perspective of apple breeding by different methods is shown. By the method of repeated hybridization, 18 cultivars have been created. 12 triploid cultivars with greater self-fertility, more regular fruiting, and larger fruits have been developed. 15 apple cultivars immune to scab, Triploid cultivars immune to scab, and 5 columnar apple cultivars have also been created. The degree of introduction of new apple cultivars into production is shown. Six apple cultivars of VNILSPK breeding: Veniaminovskoye, Veteran, Orlik, Orlovskoye Polosatoye, Rozhdestvenskoye and Sinap Orlovsky have been zoned in four regions of Russia. Candil Orlovsky and Kulikovskoye have already been approved for use in three regions, and ten apple cultivars have been zoned in two regions of Russia: Afrodita, Bolotovskoye, Imrus, Karnakovskoye, Morozovskoye, Orlovskoye Polesie, Sverhest, Soluyshko, Stroevskoye and Yablochny Spas. The rest cultivars of VNILSPK breeding are so far zoned in one region of Russia. At the first stage of the breeding work, it usually took us from 28 to 48 years to create a single cultivar, at the second stage – from 22 to 26 years, and at the third stage it took from 16 to 20 years. This is due to the fact that over the years, the selection of initial varieties for hybridization has improved, as well as the conditions for tending of hybrid seedlings have also been enhanced in the plant nursery and in the breeding orchard. Practice has proven that in every large industrial orchard it is necessary to update the assortment in a timely manner and prevent large mass single-cultivar orchards. In our opinion, each industrial orchard should have at least 4–5 cultivars of different maturation periods (winter, autumn and summer).

apple, breeding methods and tasks, intensification of the breeding process, timely renewal of cultivars in the orchard