Frontiers in Nut Crop Genetics and Germplasm Diversity

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Genetics, Genomics, Breeding, and Biotechnology (G2B2)".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2024 | Viewed by 4018

Special Issue Editors

Department of Agricultural Sciences, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY 40351, USA
Interests: genetic diversity; nuts; wild crop relatives
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, HTIRC, 715 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Interests: genome and phylogeny analysis of juglandaceae family

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nut crops represent one of the most valued horticultural crops; they have a longer shelf life than most fruits, as well as high nutritional values. Genetic diversity of nut crops has significantly decreased because open pollinated seedlings have been replaced by the vegetatively propagated new commercial cultivars.

Climate change and the higher frequency of extreme weather events, as well as the introduction of resistant pests and diseases, emphasize the importance of genetic diversity, the utilization of tolerant/resistant genes, and the integration of these genes into breeding programs. Therefore, there is a need for the preservation of existing germplasms in their native habitat, conservation areas, and genebanks.

Due to the importance of the topic, the editorial group working for the Journal of Horticulturae (MDPI) decided to dedicate a Special Issue to this topic, titled "Frontiers in Nut Crop Genetics and Germplasm Diversity".

This Special Issue aims to present new studies, tools, approaches, and techniques that have successfully addressed genetic diversity, germplasm preservation, and integration into breeding programs. The nut crops covered by this Special Issue include almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, chestnuts, pine nuts, brazil nuts, macadamia, cashew nuts, hickory, black walnuts, and butternuts.

Dr. Alireza Rahemi
Dr. Aziz Ebrahimi
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2200 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

  • genetic
  • genetic diversity
  • germplasm
  • genebank

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2474 KiB  
Article
Tracing Superior Late-Leafing Genotypes of Persian Walnut for Managing Late-Spring Frost in Walnut Orchards
by Mehdi Fallah, Mousa Rasouli, Darab Hassani, Shaneka S. Lawson, Saadat Sarikhani and Kourosh Vahdati
Horticulturae 2022, 8(11), 1003; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8111003 - 28 Oct 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1345
Abstract
Evaluating genetic diversity in walnut (Juglans regia L.) populations is a rapid approach used by walnut breeding programs to distinguish superior genotypes. The present study was conducted on the walnut population of Hamedan Province, one of the richest and most genetically diverse [...] Read more.
Evaluating genetic diversity in walnut (Juglans regia L.) populations is a rapid approach used by walnut breeding programs to distinguish superior genotypes. The present study was conducted on the walnut population of Hamedan Province, one of the richest and most genetically diverse regions in Iran, during 2018–2019. After the initial screening, 47 genotypes were selected for further evaluation of pomological and phenological traits based on International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) descriptors. Nut and kernel weights among the selected genotypes ranged from 7.15 to 21.05 g and 3.0 to 10.8 g, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) categorized the genotypes into three distinct groups. Whereas the cluster analysis (CA) revealed the similarities and dissimilarities among the genotypes by identifying four major clusters. Spearman correlation analysis showed a positive correlation (p < 0.01) between nut weight (NWT), nut size, and kernel weight (KW), while a negative correlation (p < 0.01) between shell thickness (STH) and packing tissue thickness (PTT) with kernel percentage (KP) was observed. Lastly, 10 of 47 genotypes (TAL8, TAL9, TAL10, TAL14, TAL19, TAL22, TB2, TB4, TB6, and RDGH5) were considered superior. Superior genotypes were late-leafing (25–40 days after the standard) and displayed a lateral bearing (LB) habit with heavy nuts (12.52–16.82 g) and kernels (6.53–8.15 g), thin shells (1.06–1.25 mm), and lightly colored kernels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Nut Crop Genetics and Germplasm Diversity)
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15 pages, 4505 KiB  
Article
Transfer of Self-Fruitfulness to Cultivated Almond from Peach and Wild Almond
by Thomas M. Gradziel
Horticulturae 2022, 8(10), 965; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8100965 - 18 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1786
Abstract
The almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb] is normally self-sterile, requiring orchard placement of pollinizer cultivars and insect pollinators. Honeybees are the primary insect pollinators utilized, but climate change and the higher frequency of extreme weather events have reduced their availability to [...] Read more.
The almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb] is normally self-sterile, requiring orchard placement of pollinizer cultivars and insect pollinators. Honeybees are the primary insect pollinators utilized, but climate change and the higher frequency of extreme weather events have reduced their availability to levels insufficient to meet the demands of current and anticipated almond acreage. The incorporation of self-fruitfulness may eliminate the need for both pollinizers and pollinators and allow the planting of single cultivar orchards that facilitate orchard management and reduce agrochemical inputs. Self-fruitfulness requires self-compatibility of self-pollen tube growth to fertilization, as well as a high level of consistent self-pollination or autogamy over the range of anticipated bloom environments. The Italian cultivar Tuono has been the sole source of self-compatibility for breeding programs world-wide, leading to high levels of inbreeding in current almond improvement programs. Both self-compatibility and autogamy have been successfully transferred to commercial almonds from cultivated peaches (Prunus persica L.), as well as wild peach and almond species. Self-compatibility was inherited as a novel major gene, but was also influenced by modifiers. Molecular markers developed for one species source often failed to function for other species’ sources. Autogamy was inherited as a quantitative trait. Breeding barriers were more severe in the early stages of trait introgression, but rapidly diminished by the second to third backcross. Increasing kernel size, which was similarly inherited as a quantitative trait, was a major regulator of the introgression rate. Self-fruitfulness, along with good commercial performance of tree and nut traits, was recovered from different species sources, including Prunus mira, Prunus webbii, P. persica, and the P. webbii-derived Italian cultivar Tuono. Differences in expression of self-fruitfulness were observed, particularly during field selection at the early growth stages. Introgression of self-fruitfulness from these diverse sources also enriched overall breeding germplasm, allowing the introduction of useful traits that are not accessible within traditional germplasm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Nut Crop Genetics and Germplasm Diversity)
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