Prunus (Almond, Apricot, Cherry, Peach, Plum) Collections
Carolyn DeBuse, USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository, One Shields Drive, University of California, Davis, California 95616
Gayle M. Volk, USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation, 1111 S. Mason St., Fort Collins, Colorado 80521
Emma Balunek, USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation, 1111 S. Mason St., Fort Collins, Colorado 80521
John E. Preece, USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository, One Shields Drive, University of California, Davis, California 95616
Outline
- Introduction
- Almond collection
- Apricot collection
- Cherry collection
- Peach collection
- Plum collection
- References
- Additional information
- Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
The National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Tree Fruit, Nut Crops, and Grapes in Davis, California has 1,677 unique accessions of Prunus maintained as field trees. Prunus is a genus of Rosaceae (the rose family) that includes species of the important fruit and nut crops, almond, apricot, cherry, peach, and plum. The Davis Repository collection is the most diverse Prunus collection in the U.S., representing at least 90 taxa. The USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System has its primary collection of 78 accessions of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus) at the Plant Genetic Resources Unit in Geneva, New York. This chapter primarily focuses on the Prunus collections in Davis, CA.
Table 1. Prunus crops in the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System collection maintained in Davis, California.
Prunus is native to countries throughout the northern hemisphere; wild species are widespread in Asia, Europe, and North America. The following centers of diversity are based on the Prunus Crop Vulnerability Statement (Prunus Crop Germplasm Committee, 2017).
Table 2. Centers of diversity for Prunus primary genepool species (from Prunus Crop Germplasm Committee, 2017).
2. almond collection
Almonds (Prunus dulcis) are native to the arid mountainous regions of Central Asia. Almonds are California’s second highest value crop, and the California almond industry generates over $21 billion in economic revenue. California produces 80% of the world’s almonds. ‘Nonpareil’ accounts for more than 50% of the almonds produced in the U.S. (Prunus Crop Germplasm Committee, 2017).
Most almond cultivars require cross-pollination to produce fruit, therefore, orchards contain multiple cultivars. Pollination is the most important factor in determining high yields. Nearly 1.6 million colonies of honey bees (more than half of American hives) travel on trucks to California at the beginning of the flower bloom period to pollinate the crop. In addition to the almonds (kernel) that are consumed as nuts, hulls are used as livestock feed and in alternative energy sources (Almond Board of California, 2016). Shelled almond production in the 2019 totaled 2.51 billion pounds on 1.18 million acres. The 2019 almond crop was valued at $6.09 billion (NASS