Resistance of cherry plum cultivars developed at Maikop Experiment Station of VIR to fungal diseases

Background. Cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera Ehrh.) is a unique stone fruit crop. Development of fungal diseases, including brown rot, shot hole, red leaf spot, and rust, leads to a significant decrease in the yield and marketable quality of P. cerasifera fruits. Planting cherry plum orchards with resistant cultivars is a highly effective method of disease control. Breeding for disease resistance requires availability of the trait’s genetic diversity. P. cerasifera accessions from the unique collection maintained at Maikop Experiment Station of VIR can be utilized as sources of such diversity. The objective of the project was to identify cherry plum cultivars resistant to fungal diseases among those bred at Maikop Experiment Station.

Materials and methods. The tested material included 14 accessions of P. cerasifera. Resistance to fungal diseases was assessed in the collection orchard of Maikop Experiment Station according to a generally accepted scale in 2011–2022.

Results and conclusions. It was established that weather conditions during the flowering, growing and fruit-ripening periods of P. cerasifera plants affected the degree of damage by fungal diseases. Long-term research showed that cherry plum cultivars developed at Maikop Experiment Station of VIR were resistant to brown rot and shot hole. Most P. cerasifera cultivars were observed to possess resistance to rust and red leaf spot. Twelve cherry plum cultivars with combined resistance to four diseases were also identified. They can be recommended to breeders for the development of P. cerasifera cultivars with combined resistance to fungal diseases.

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