Reduction of fruit cracking in persimmon breeding at the national institute of Japan

Abstract

The cracking of persimmon fruits at the apex and calyx ends induces fruit softening followed by a shorter shelf life. Unlike non-PCNA cultivars, PCNA local cultivars in Japan exhibit both or either of the cracking habits at a high frequency. One of the aims of the persimmon breeding program at the national institute of Japan has been the release of non-cracking PCNA cultivars. Here we illustrate the improvement of the resistance to cracking status in 9,164 PCNA offspring obtained from 1970 to 2009 at the national institute. In PCNA local cultivars and their offspring, the frequency of the non-cracking habit at the fruit apex was 18, 31, 50, 60, and 68% in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, respectively. In the same decades and the same population, the frequencies of the non-cracking habit at the calyx end were 18, 49, 51, 69, and 79%, respectively. These data support the conclusion that fruit cracking susceptibility is being successfully reduced in the assessed PCNA population.