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Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement

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A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural Science and Ornamental Plants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2026 | Viewed by 4929

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Editors

Dr. Jiri Sedlák

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Guest Editor

Research and Breeding Institute of Pomology Holovousy Ltd., 508 01 Hořice, Czech Republic
Interests: fruit tree virology; pomology; micropropagation; horticultural biotechnology; cryopreservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Boris Krška

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Research and Breeding Institute of Pomology Holovousy Ltd., 508 01 Hořice, Czech Republic
Interests: fruit breeding; genetic diversity; germplasm; plant diseases; viral resistance; chemical profiles; mineral composition; climate change; Prunus species

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue of Plants, titled "Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement", presents a comprehensive exploration of contemporary research aimed at enhancing fruit crop productivity and sustainability. This collection brings together interdisciplinary studies that highlight innovative breeding techniques, sophisticated pathogen management strategies, and advanced chemical profiling methods to improve fruit quality and yield. Within the field of fruit tree breeding research, this Special Issue emphasizes the integration of genomic tools, marker-assisted selection, and modern biotechnological approaches to develop productive cultivars with enhanced resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Complementary to these genetic improvements, the papers in this issue address novel strategies for pathogen management, focusing on sustainable, environmentally friendly methods to control diseases that threaten fruit production worldwide. Additionally, this Special Issue aims at the chemical profiling of fruit trees, showcasing how metabolomics and advanced analytical techniques can unravel the complex biochemical pathways responsible for flavor, aroma, and nutritional value. Collectively, these contributions will provide a holistic view of crop improvement, bridging traditional horticultural practices with state-of-the-art research. The insights presented are expected to pave the way for innovative practices that will secure the future of fruit cultivation and contribute to global food security.

Dr. Jiri Sedlák
Prof. Dr. Boris Krška
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

fruit crops
pathogen management
sustainable fruit growing
biotechnology
healthy compounds in fruit

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

8 pages, 705 KB

Open AccessCommunication

Thermotherapy Treatments of Fruit Trees of the Genus Prunus Infected by Viruses and Bacteria

by Natàlia Puig-Gay, Carlos Rieder and Mireia Bordas

Plants 2026, 15(16), 2440; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15162440 - 11 Aug 2026

Viewed by 166

Abstract

The thermotherapy technique has been used to evaluate the viability of hot water treatments (HWTs) for the elimination of different pathogens that infect commercial fruit trees. The present project focuses on common pathogens of Prunus species at the nursery level when external propagation material is needed, which is not always in optimal sanitary conditions. Different combinations of temperature/duration treatments were applied to budwood of nectarines infected by Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni (Xap) and almonds infected by Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV). These treated buds were then grafted onto disease-free micropropagated rootstocks. In bacteria-infected nectarine tissues treated at 45 °C for 40 min, Xap was not detected in any sample, preserving a high viability of the grafted plants. In virus-infected almond tissues treated at 45 °C for 50 min a few individual plants were identified in which no virus was detected. These results demonstrated the effectiveness of the HWT and suggest that these techniques could be applied at nursery level, on a large scale for the eradication of bacteria or on a small scale for the recovery of virus-free individuals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement)

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39 pages, 4800 KB

Open AccessArticle

Germplasm Mining of Prunus domestica L.: Multi-Year Assessment of Pomological Characters to Identify Candidate Elite Donor Parents for European Plum Breeding and Their Genetic Evaluation

by Michaela Marklová, Liliia Pavliuk, Jana Čmejlová, Boris Krška and Jiří Sedlák

Plants 2026, 15(13), 2095; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15132095 - 6 Jul 2026

Viewed by 484

Abstract

European plum (Prunus domestica L.) breeding for competitive production increasingly requires donor parents that combine attractive, market-oriented fruit quality with stable trait expression. This study evaluated a set of 36 phenotypically highly different cultivars from the germplasm collection maintained at the Research and Breeding Institute of Pomology Holovousy Ltd. (the Czech Republic). First, genetic analyses based on SSR marker data were performed to assess the diversity and kinship relationships within the selected collection of plum varieties. Several parentage combinations were successfully identified for cultivars with previously undocumented origins. Population-level analyses confirmed broad genetic diversity and separated the collection into four genetically distinct groups. Phenotypes were obtained on fruits ripened on trees from a non-irrigated orchard on myrobalan rootstock over five consecutive years (2019–2023). Pomological and related quality traits were recorded using nine-point UPOV-based rating scales together with instrumental measurements. The dataset included fruit size and shape descriptors, skin and flesh color, wax bloom, soluble solids (°Brix), firmness, bruising resistance, stone separability, and sensory attributes (flavor, aroma, juiciness, texture, and acidity). Interannual variability was quantified using coefficients of variation, and relationships among traits were explored using Pearson correlations. The results revealed broad phenotypic diversity among the individual varieties and also their genetic groups. Finally, phenotypes were associated with genotypes, and the most genetically determined traits were identified. Multi-year stability profiling supported the identification of candidate elite donor cultivars that combine favorable attributes for the fresh market and/or traits relevant to processing. These findings provide a practical pre-breeding shortlist and quantitative trait targets to support crossing design and selection under central European conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement)

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17 pages, 2488 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Bigger, the Better: Genetic and Phenotypic Analysis of Fruit Size in Sweet (Prunus avium L.) and Sour Cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) Germplasm

by Sámuel Szilágyi, Francesco Desiderio, Balázs Marton, Piroska Mohay, Alejandro Therese Navarro and Zsuzsanna Békefi

Plants 2026, 15(6), 856; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15060856 - 10 Mar 2026

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 742

Abstract

Fruit size and weight are valuable characteristics for cherry breeders, mainly because of their higher market price. Several molecular markers have been developed in recent years and have been correlated with fruit weight. In cherries, FW_G2a was identified as a promising hotspot for fruit size and weight characteristics. Two markers flanking that region were taken into consideration in this study. The local sweet and sour cherry collection in Érd, Hungary, was analyzed using molecular markers to identify possible correlations between the markers and phenotypes. The duration of phenotypic observations varied from 3 years in sour cherry to 5 years in sweet cherry. In our study, we observed correlations between fruit size and weight and the molecular markers of our germplasm collection. We confirmed the previously published association of haplotypes 190–255 and 192–233 with large and small fruit size, respectively, in sweet cherry. Individual alleles of both markers were identified, showing moderate to strong correlations with large and small fruit size in sweet cherry. In tetraploid sour cherry, a higher number of unique allelic combinations were found due to the higher level of ploidy compared to sweet cherry. Individual alleles were detected with moderate positive correlations with fruit size, while one allele showed a strong negative correlation with fruit dimension-related traits. These markers were found to be useful for the characterization of fruit size characteristics, for population selection and for the differentiation of the Hungarian germplasm collection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement)

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21 pages, 1486 KB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Climatic Conditions and Genotypes on Vitamin C Levels in Stone Species and Apple Cultivars

by Aneta Bílková, Pavol Suran, Dáša Jiroušová, Lucie Šepsová and Martin Mészáros

Plants 2026, 15(5), 793; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15050793 - 4 Mar 2026

Viewed by 654

Abstract

Genetic and climatic factors influence the nutritional content of fruit, with vitamin C being a key component. Using HPLC, we quantified the amount of vitamin C in cherries, apricots, plums, and apples from 2022 to 2024. Contents ranged from 1.6 to 24.6 mg/100 g fresh weight basis (FW), with apples and plums displaying the highest coefficient of variation (32.53% and 45.25%). The highest content was consistently found in accession ‘HL827’, which exceeded 20 mg/100 g FW. Cherries reached up to 12.1 mg/100 g FW in 2023 (‘13590′), but decreased to 1.9 mg/100 g FW in 2024 (‘Jacinta’). Apricots showed high fluctuation, with ‘Betinka’, ‘Candela’, and ‘HL08-052’ exceeding the 30% variance coefficient. Accessions that remained stable (‘HL96-266’) maintained a low variance only. Plums were the most sensitive, experiencing low vitamin C content under hot and dry conditions. Regression analysis identified temperature (NTavg-20) as the dominant climatic driver in plums and cherries (R² = 0.999, p < 0.05 and R² = 0.995, p < 0.05) respectively, whereas apples and apricots showed negligible responses (R² ≤ 0.210). These findings underscore the importance of genotype/environment interactions at the local level and highlight the value of stable accessions as valuable resources for breeding cultivars with high and resilient vitamin C content. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement)

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20 pages, 3093 KB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Genotype, Maturity Stage and Year on Surface Pitting Susceptibility and Related Physiological Traits in Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium L.)

by Pavol Suran, Veronika Danková, Aneta Bílková and Lucie Plecitá

Plants 2026, 15(1), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15010063 - 25 Dec 2025

Viewed by 915

Abstract

This study investigates the resistance of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) accessions to surface pitting, a critical postharvest issue. A two-year analysis of 32 accessions and 3 cultivars, fruit chemical composition (total antioxidant capacity, anthocyanins, polyphenols, dry matter, and ascorbic acid), and maturity stages on pitting susceptibility was conducted. The damage index (DI) is a quantitative measure of fruit susceptibility to surface pitting after mechanical injury and storage; lower DI values indicate higher resistance, while higher DI values indicate greater susceptibility. The damage index (DI) in our study ranged from 1.18 to 2.87, with ‘10072’ exhibiting the highest resistance (DI = 1.18 ± 0.20) and ‘16806’ the lowest (DI = 2.87 ± 0.49). Biochemical analysis showed an inverse correlation between total dry matter content (TDM) and DI (r = −0.445, p < 0.001), with high-TDM accessions demonstrating lower pitting susceptibility. Ascorbic acid levels also negatively correlated with DI (r = −0.148, p < 0.01), as ‘10072’ contained 41% higher ascorbic acid than ‘16806’. In contrast, total antioxidant capacity (TEAC) correlated positively with DI (r = 0.309, p < 0.001), suggesting that higher antioxidant levels may increase susceptibility. Maturity stages affected fruit chemical composition but did not significantly alter DI values (first maturity stage DI = 2.17 ± 0.56; second maturity stage DI = 2.19 ± 0.53, p > 0.05). Some accessions maintained stable resistance across seasons, emphasizing the role of genetics. These findings provide valuable insights for breeding strategies to improve cherry resistance to surface pitting. The identification of highly resistant accessions like ‘10072’ offers promising candidates for breeding programs, while predictive chemical markers could aid rapid selection for enhanced postharvest quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement)

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12 pages, 1296 KB

Open AccessArticle

Mechanical Resistance of New Apple Genotypes for Automated Harvesting

by Martin Císler, František Horejš, Jakub Lev, Petr Novák, Milan Kroulík and Lubor Zelený

Plants 2025, 14(22), 3455; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14223455 - 12 Nov 2025

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 869

Abstract

Mechanical damage to apples that occurs without visible skin rupture represents a significant issue during handling and harvesting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential for detecting initial internal tissue failure using parameters derived from the deformation curve obtained during a quasi-static penetration test. Particular attention was given to the parameter Pa, defined as the pressure at the yield point, which indicates the onset of structural failure in the tissue. The occurrence of Pa was monitored across five apple genotypes, and the results demonstrated the parameter’s sensitivity to latent internal damage. The parameter Pc, characterising resistance in the later phase of penetration, also showed a strong correlation with fruit bulk density. Significant differences in all mechanical characteristics were observed between the genotypes. The results highlight the potential of these parameters for assessing varietal suitability for mechanised harvesting and sorting. The proposed methodology is readily applicable in the selection of new genotypes within breeding programmes as well as in post-harvest situations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit Tree Breeding, Pathogen Management and Chemical Profiling for Crop Improvement)

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