Fruit Breeding in Arkansas

Abstract

The performance of a fruit variety is dependent upon an interaction between the genotype of the plant and the environment in which it is grown. The plant genotype sets the broad limits of production and quality performance, and the prevailing environment determines the performance within the genetically controlled limits of the variety. For this reason, a variety may perform altogether differently when moved to a new environment. Some varieties, such as the Blakemore strawberry, the Concord grape, and the Elberta peach, are relatively stable, phenotypically, over a rather wide range of soil and climatic conditions. Such varieties are believed to be somewhat insensitive to minor environmental fluctuations as a result of having "homostatic" genes which buffer the variety to changes in environment. Most fruit varieties, however, are quite sensitive to even small environmental changes. New, highly specialized fruit varieties being developed in modem breeding programs appear in many cases to have more narrow ranges of adaptation than many of the older, less specialized varieties. It appears that in selecting for very high performance under one environment, genes for adaptation to other environmental conditions are in many cases being sacrificed.