Biochemical basis of low fruit quality of Prunus davidiana, a pest and disease resistance donor for peach breeding

Abstract

Prunus davidiana (Carr.), a wild species with poor fruit quality that is related to peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch], is used as a source of resistance to pests and diseases in peach breeding programs. Two genotypes of P. davidiana were studied for fruit biochemical composition and compared to three genotypes of P. persica ('Summergrand', 'Bailey' and 'Pamirskij'), and two P. persica x P. davidiana hybrids. Fruit of P. davidiana clones had higher malic acid, neochlorogenic and cryptochlorogenic acid and lower sucrose concentrations than fruit of all P. persica genotypes, even poor-quality Bailey. Differences in biochemical composition could be related to sensory evaluation. P. persica x P. davidiana hybrids had intermediate values between their parents for neochlorogenic acid concentration. They were similar to the P. persica parent for total soluble sugar, malic and citric acid, amino acid and catechin concentrations, indicating possible rapid progress for fruit quality in a breeding program.