Studies of the Old Romanian Apple Varieties Involved in New Breeding Programs for Resistance to Venturia inaequalis

Breeding for resistance to Venturia inaequalis has become a major objective for many research laboratories. The use of resistant cultivars reduces production costs for apple species. This work is focused on the identification of other sources of resistance to Venturia inaequalis among the old Romanian varieties in Transilvania area (“Turnu†, “Venchi†, “Vanatori 48†, “Sangeriu†, “Costat de Albesti†varieties), on the studies of the quality of these varieties, the use of the most valuable of them in the Romanian breeding program and the screening of the hybrid progenies after artificial infection with Venturia inaequalis for a durable resistance to this important apple disease. Some older Romanian varieties- “Mohorat†, “Viesti†and “Nobile de Geoagiu†were used like genitors in USAMVB’s breeding program.To identify specific resistance and develop the new plant material is important in this process. Using the domestic apple varieties well adapted to the climate in Romania in the breeding program can be an interesting premise on inducing natural genetic resistance to Venturia inaequalis. After artificial infection we observed that a number of varieties such as “Prescurate†, “Turnu†, “Venchi†, “Gurguiate†, “Rosu Marin†and “Sangeriu†showed some genetic resistance to Venturia inaequalis, falling within Class 0. In total there were 36 plants belonging to class 0 which means no symptoms. In Class 1, 550 plants were assigned, which is also considered resistant. The results are presented in Table 3 and in Figure 6. The variety which recorded the highest values was “Iridium†with 139 plants, followed by the variety “Rosu Marin†with 124 plants and “Venghi†with 123 young plants.