Abstract
Genus Prunus includes all the stone fruits (peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, almond and cherry) comprise around 98 species and classified under three subgenera namely: Amygdalus (peaches, nectraine and almonds), Prunophora (plums and apricots) and Cerasus (cherries). Genus Prunus have attained a prime position among all the temperate fruit crops as delicious edible drupe, and many species have ornamental values as well. Major species of importance are Prunus persica (peach), Prunus armeniaca (apricot), Prunus salicina (Japanese plum), Prunus domestica (European plum), Prunus americana (American plum), Prunus avium (Sweet cherry), Prunus cerasus (Sour cherry), Prunus dulcis (almond), Prunus ceracifera (Cherry plum), Prunus mira (Behmi), Prunus cerasoides (Wild Himalayan cherry), Prunus mahaleb (Mahaleb cherry) etc. Interspecific hybrids namely: plumcots, pluots and apriums also produce very delicious edible fruits. Commercial cultivars of different stone fruits are J H Hale, Cresthaven, Flordasun, Florda Prince, Elberta, Glohaven, July Elberta, Redhaven, Kanto 5, Sun Haven etc. of peaches, Fantasia, Mayfire, Red Gold, Snow Queen etc. belongs to nectarine, Turkey, Charmagz, Perfection, St. Ambroise, Royal, New Castle etc. are apricots, Santa Rosa, Black Beauty, Kelsey, Green Gage, Methley, Satsuma, Frontier, Burbank etc. are plums, Regina, Burlat, Lapins, Kordia, Stella, Bing, Van, Black Heart, Compact Lambert, Compact Stella etc. are cherries, and California Paper Shell, IXL, Mission, Nonpareil, Drake, Ne Plus Ultra, Pranyaj, Merced etc. are almonds.
Highlights
Stone fruit is a generic term used to define fruits which includes peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, almond and cherry which are generally grown in temperate climatic conditions
Almond is classified in the subgenus Amygdalus within the genus Prunus, distinguished from the other subgenera (Prunophora and Cerasus sections) by the corrugated seed shell [5]
Stone fruits or Prunus spp. are deciduous tree species originating from the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere
Summary
Stone fruit is a generic term used to define fruits which includes peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, almond and cherry which are generally grown in temperate climatic conditions. The commercial production of stone fruits is confined between the latitude of 30 and 40°N and S, it is grown almost all over the world. The major stone fruit-producing country is China accounting about 50 per cent share of the total world production. In India, stone fruits are grown on a commercial scale in mid-hill Himalayan states, viz. Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, as well as in a limited scale in north-eastern states. These fruits are generally grown on soils having bulk density, parasitic nematodes, root rot problems, fungal pathogens or other soil and replant problems. In India, about 36 Prunus species have been reported so far and 18 species are useful for cultivation for different purposes [2–4] (Figure 1)
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