Pruning out the genetics of plums

We are always excited when we get requests for something “new” that we haven’t worked on before. One such request was from Provar, an independent cultivar evaluation company, who wanted to see whether there was a genetic reason for low fruit set observed in some local Japanese plum orchards. Together with Carl Hörstmann, we could determine that some cultivars were genetically incompatible due to elements called “S-alleles”, and should not be planted together. The results from this project were recently published in Fresh Quarterly magazine in the form of convenient compatibility tables that will allow growers to make informed decisions about which cultivars to plant together.

It is very rewarding to see our work having a direct positive impact on the industry. Please find a link to the September issue of Fresh Quarterly below.

5 Factors affecting Fruit Set by Anna Mouton, Fresh Quarterly by Hortgrow, Issue 10, September 2020, Pages 12-15.