New recent selections issued from INRA's apricot breeding programme
Résumé
INRA, CENTREX and CEP INNOVATION are developing new apricot cultivars for French growers with particular attention paid to consumer's expectations. The main objectives of the related breeding programme are: prodnction regularity, fruit quality and attractiveness. Their evaluation is based on a multilocal and pluriannual set of trials located in the three major French areas of cultivation and organised as a 3-stage-valuation: (i) observation of the seedlings on their own roots (ii) evaluation of the best grafted selectious in the 3 main areas, (iii) assessment of the agronomic and commercial interest of the 'elite' accessions in small commercial orchards. At the end of the selection process two recent main types of cultivars have been introduced: - Ten new cultivars able to enlarge the harvesting season by 'conventional' type of fruit 'Soledane', 'Solimar'®, 'Candide', 'Bergerval'®, 'Bergarouge'®, 'Royal Roussillon', 'Vertige', 'Fantasme'®, 'Héléna du Roussillon'®, 'Frisson'); - Three new fruit-type apricots caracterized by a stark red blush covering 80% of the fruit shape, developed under the same trademark, 'Rubisco'® (Ravival, Ravilong and Ravicile).