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The French apricot production is located in the South-Eastern part of the country and focused both in the Rhone valley and close to the Mediterranean Sea. The north of the Rhone valley is characterized by a continental climate while the southern region (Rhone valley and Mediterranean area) is under warm typical Mediterranean climate. Obviously apricot fruit production depends on a specific panel of cultivars in each area of cultivation due to economic and adaptation constraints. In order to enlarge the panel of cultivars to be developed by the growers in each region an integrated breeding program is developed at a national level in France with the participation of INRA, CENTREX and CEP INNOVATION. The main goals of the breeding program are: the elaboration of cultivars suitable for a durable production (including resistance to pests and disease), production regularity (including self-fertility and quality of the flowers), and fruit quality (including taste, attractiveness, and suitability for the transport). The evaluation phase is organized in the 3 main areas of production (Perpignan, Nimes, Valence) and follows 3 complementary evaluation stages (i) observation of the hybrid on its own roots; (ii) evaluation of the best hybrids after grafting in the 3 main areas; (iii) assessment of the agronomic and commercial interest of the 'elite' accessions in small orchards. The main results issued from this program are presented: 8 registered cultivars, 4 new selections under registration, and the first PPV resistant cultivar 'Aramis' ® 'Shamade'.

International audience; French apricot production is located in the south-eastern part of the country, with a focused zone in the Rhone valley and close to the Mediterranean Sea. The north of the Rhone valley is characterized by a continental climate, while the southern region ( Rhone valley and Mediterranean area) is under a warm, typically Mediterranean climate. Obviously, apricot fruit production depends on the development of a specific panel of cultivars in each area of cultivation because of economic and adaptation constraints. In order to enlarge the panel of cultivars for growers of each region, an integrated breeding program has been developed at a national level in France with the participation of INRA, Centrex and CEP Innovation. The main goals of the breeding program are: the elaboration of cultivars suitable for durable production ( including resistance to pests and diseases), production regularity ( including self-fertility and quality of the flowers), and fruit quality ( including taste, attractiveness, and suitability for transport). The evaluation phase is organized in the three main French areas of production ( Perpignan, Nimes and Valence) with three complementary evaluation stages: ( i) observation of hybrids on their own roots ( ii) evaluation of pre-selections after grafting in the three main areas, and ( iii) 'elite' agronomic and commercial assessments in small orchards. A tough diagnosis, that includes biological, serological and molecular analysis, is conducted in parallel for assessing resistance to Plum pox virus ( PPV). The main results issued from this program are presented here, with 10 cultivars, including PPV-resistant Aramis (R) cultivars.

International audience; L’arboriculture fruitière se trouve dans un contexte notoirement difficile : elle est exposée non seulement à une crise que l’on qualifie désormais de structurelle, mais aussi à des attentes et contraintes à la fois contradictoires et interdépendantes, portant notamment sur la qualité environnementale, les performances agronomiques, la qualité gustative et l’aptitude à une mise en marché de plus en plus contraignante – d’autant plus qu’en cultures pérennes, les pas de temps contraignent fortement les possibilités d’évolution, par rapport aux cultures annuelles. Dans ce contexte, explorer les évolutions passées et possibles de l’arboriculture, en particulier dans une perspective de réduction des intrants et d’écologisation des pratiques, suppose de traiter des interdépendances entre les stratégies et contraintes des divers acteurs du secteur. Cet article analyse les évolutions, depuis les années 1960 jusqu’à aujourd’hui, de la sélection génétique et de l’offre variétale en pêche et abricot, dans leur interaction avec les autres éléments du système socio-technique : évolution du marché, organisation des acteurs de la filière, politiques publiques, stratégies et pratiques des exploitations agricoles.

En: XII International Symposium on Apricot Culture and Decline, Avignon (France). Editor: J.M. Audergon.

National audience

International audience; The knowledge on the transmission of fruit quality traits has a great importance in order to optimize the inter-cultivar crosses design and to improve the efficiency of apricot breeding programmes. Four apricot progenies issued from different genetic origins were evaluated during two years; two apricot progenies cultivated in Avignon (France), one in Bologna (Italy), and other one in Murcia (Spain). Fruit quality characterization was based on physical measurements (fruit weight, colour, and firmness) and biochemical measurements (soluble solids content, and titratable acidity). Phenotypic datasets showed distribution of seedlings with regard to the parents, with a high variability for all analyzed quality parameters. An inter-annual variation was observed for the mean values of all the genotypes between the two years of the study, indicating the influence of the environmental conditions on fruit characteristics. Results indicated a quantitative inheritance of all quality traits in the apricot progenies indicating their polygenic nature. In general we observed in most cases a normal distribution of quality traits in the observed populations. However, in contrast to intermediate expected values between the parents, a large number of seedlings showed lower or higher values than their parents for many quality parameters. In this sense, results evidenced an extra genetic influence of the parents (the whole genetic background) on the transmission of fruit quality traits in apricot, which should be taken into consideration with inter-cultivar crosses design.

International audience; Few years ago, apricot fruits characterized by a deep red-purple supra-colour covering nearly the whole surface of the apricot fruit were found in the apricot germplasm, Being introduced in breeding programmes, preliminary selections were obtained and evaluated on their horticultural potential. Their interest for the consumers and their post-harvest main characteristics were investigated. While for the consumers the distinctiveness between these fruits and the conventional apricots was cleal, part of the interviewees was attracted by the innovation, while another part was not concerned. However, special attention has to be paid to the harvest because the intense red-colour masks the green ground colour of the skin. In addition, some of the accessions issued from this germplasm are characterized by a rather fast post-harvest evolution. Thus, in order to protect the consumers and to sell the best fruits as possible, it has been proposed to develop all the apricot series under the same trade mark 'Rubisco'® and under a technical agreement proposed to all the growers. So far, three cultivars have been named: 'Ravicille', 'Ravilong' and 'Ravival' with different dates of ripening.

International audience; Among fruit species, apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is characterized by a large increase in the number of registered and/or granted cultivars over the last decades, and by an effective interest at the European level. At the same time, an evolution concerning fruit quality attributes was observed globally among registered cultivars. In order to characterize this tendency, 172 cultivars in collection were observed. Representative fruit samples have been collected and their quality attributes such as fruit weight, firmness, colour, soluble solids content, and titratable acidity were considered. The impacts of genetic and geographic origin factors were evaluated. A significant increase in fruit firmness and colour, as well as a decrease in fruit acidity, was observed. No evolution on sugar content was noticed.

International audience

International audience; Fruit elaboration in orchards and post-harvest evolution are amongst the key factors to be kept under control in order to ensure fruit quality for the consumers. Due to the large variability already described in apricot ethylene production rate, we have focused on the comparison of contrasting apricot cultivars. For four apricot varieties (‘Moniqui’, ‘Goldrich’, ‘Bergeron’ and ‘A3759’), post-harvest storage at 23°C has been compared with fruit ripening on the tree, for three main traits: ethylene production, fruit firmness and colour changes. An earlier and higher ethylene production rate, associated with a faster loss of firmness, was observed post-harvest, in comparison with the fruit evolution on the tree. Colour changes also have been noticed. Differences amongst cultivars have been highlighted clearly.

National audience