The exploitation of Croatian grapevine genetic resources for the breeding of new resistant cultivars
Abstract
Croatian viticulture is mainly based on native grapevine varieties susceptible to various diseases and pests, which leads to unsustainable use of large amounts of pesticides. The sustainable development of viticulture in the future will only be possible by increasing the resistance of the grapevine through the development of new resistant varieties. Breeding programs have been launched in the leading wine-growing countries to develop resistant varieties possessing high-quality levels. Native cultivars from Croatia are not included in the breeding programs of other countries. In 2015 a breeding program was started at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture. The long-term goal is to develop new varieties suitable for Croatian growing conditions, with stable and durable resistance using native germplasm and other sources of resistance.
Native varieties Grk and Dišeća ranina were selected as a starting point for the breeding program because they pose female flower type, aiming to develop breeding lines with female flowers. The source of resistance in the program’s first stage is the Panonia variety. After applying molecular markers in the population of seedlings expressing the high level of phenotypic resistance to downy and powdery mildew, several plants were detected that inherited all three resistant gene loci (Rpv3, Rpv12 – downy mildew resistance, Ren3 – powdery mildew resistance) from Panonia and female flower from chosen native varieties. They were included as mother plants in the program’s next step and were crossed to obtain breeding lines with additional resistant gene loci.
DOI:
Issue: ICGWS 2023
Type: Article
Authors
1University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Svetošimunska 25, Zagreb, Croatia
2 Center of Excellence for Biodiversity and Molecular Plant Breeding, Svetošimunska 25, Zagreb, Croatia