Abstract
A set of 680 apple cultivars from the Fruit Gene bank in Dresden Pillnitz was evaluated for the incidence of powdery mildew and scab in two consecutive years. The incidence of both scab and powdery mildew increased significantly in the second year. Sixty and 43 cultivars with very low incidence in both years of scab and powdery mildew, respectively, were analysed with molecular markers linked to known resistance genes. Thirty-five cultivars were identified to express alleles or combinations of alleles linked to Rvi2, Rvi4, Rvi6, Rvi13, Rvi14, or Rvi17. Twenty of them, modern as well as a few traditional cultivars known before the introduction or Rvi6 from Malus floribunda 821, amplified the 159 bp fragment of marker CH_Vf1 that is linked to Rvi6. Alleles linked to Pl1, Pld, or Plm were expressed from five cultivars resistant to powdery mildew. Eleven cultivars were identified to have very low susceptibility to both powdery mildew and scab. The information on resistance/susceptibility of fruit genetic resources towards economically important diseases is important for breeding and for replanting traditional cultivars. Furthermore, our work provides a well-defined basis for the discovery of undescribed, new scab, and powdery mildew resistance.
Highlights
Global climate change and environmental degradation increasingly endanger many areas of our life
Orchards affected by fungal diseases like apple scab and apple powdery mildew, which are caused by Venturia inaequalis (Cooke Winter, 1875) and Podospaera leucotricha
The major problems in apple production are caused by fungal pathogens like V. inaequalis and P. leucotricha, causing scab and powdery mildew respectively
Summary
Global climate change and environmental degradation increasingly endanger many areas of our life. The. European Green Deal is the new European growth strategy and a roadmap to make Europe climate-neutral until the middle of this century. As current food production systems are key drivers of climate change and environmental degradation, the Farm to Fork strategy recognizes, among others, the urgent need to reduce the dependency on pesticides and excess fertilisation, to increase organic farming, and to fight against the progressive loss of biodiversity. Up to 20 fungicide treatments (equalling to a fungicide treatment index of up to 26) are applied [1] to avoid severe scab and powdery mildew infections. Organic management practices, which are known to have a higher output of ecosystem services, are associated with a 48% lower yield compared to integrated fruit production [2]. Planting resistant cultivars is a promising strategy.
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