1. Inge De Wit
Annemarie Auwerkerken
Progress in Better3fruit’s Apple
and Pear Breeding Program
Eufrin meeting ‐ Feb 2013

2. Overview
History and Activity of Better3fruit
Mission Better3fruit
Breeding Objectives Apple Breeding + results
Breeding Objectives Pear Breeding + results

3. History of the company
1988 start Apple breeding
collaboration between:
Tree nursery NV Johan Nicolaï
Catholic University of Leuven (Fruitteeltcentrum KUL ‐ Prof. Keulemans)
2000 Better3fruit: private company
2005 start Pear breeding at Sempra, Cz
2013 9 commercial apple varieties

4. Activity of Better3fruit
Private and independent
5 shareholders:
• KULeuven
• Gemma‐Frisius II
• European Fruit Co‐operation (EFC)
• Belgian Farmers Association
• Brava
Variety innovation
• Breeding Apple and Pear
• Introduction into the market
Intellectual property management

5. Fruit that meets the demands of consumers and industry:
high‐quality
novel
controlled production and distribution process
Mission
‘Create new and better fruit!’

6. Breeding Objectives Apple
Breeding for commercial products
• 10.000 grafted trees/year
Pre‐breeding program for:
• Major gene resistance
• Pyramidization resistance genes
• Specific quality traits (shape, color, red flesh,…)

7. Commercial Breeding Objectives
75% Quality
Fruit quality
• Texture and Taste
• Cold storage + Shelf life
Attractiviness
appeal and uniformity
Productivity and regular bearing
25% Durable disease resistance + Quality
Scab, Powdery mildew, Nectria, Erwinia

8. Commercial product and advanced selections
• Quality
• Quality + scab resistance
• Quality + scab resistance + disease tolerance
Selections under evaluation
• Quality ( + scab resistance) (+ disease tolerance)
• New scab resistance sources (+ quality)
• Specific quality traits: red flesh, shape, color
Portfolio Apple

9. Breeding Objectives Pear
Fruit quality
• texture and taste
• long cold storage
• extended shelf life
Appeal
• “bright red blush”
• uniformity
Tree
• Productivity and regular bearing
• Parthenocarpy
Disease resistance
• Erwinia amylovora

10. Breeding Pear
• Pear program
started 2005
10.000 grafted trees/ year
First fruit evaluated in 2012:
• Grafted trees
• Sempra‐Litomerice, Cz

11. Portfolio Pear
Advanced selection
Pear1: red blushed Conference type
First selections under evaluation:
Crosses of 2005
Grafted on rootstock in 2008
First results:

12. Portfolio Pear

13. //www.better3fruit.com/
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