Canadian breeding program for white pine blister resistance in black currants

Abstract

The search for appropriate white pine blister rust (WPBR) (Cronartium ribicola J.C. Fischer) resistant germplasm to use in black currant (Ribes nigrum L.) breeding programs began in 1935 in Ottawa. Crosses were made in 1938 and 1939 with three different Ribes L. species and two standard black currant cultivars. The resulting seedlings from these crosses were evaluated for rust resistance. Three promising selections resulted from this program and were named 'Coronet', 'Crusader' and 'Consort'.