DOI: https://doi.org/10.5513/JCEA01/26.3.4621

2025, 26 (3)   p. 694-709

Georgeta Guzu, Ioan Zagrai, Monica Hârța, Orsolya Borsai, Luminița Zagrai, Smaranda Roșu Mareș, Zsolt Ilyefalvi-Jakab, Claudiu Moldovan, Anca Chiorean, Mirela Cordea

Abstract

Malus x domestica Borkh. is one of the most important fruit tree species grown in temperate climates, ranking second in fruit production and cultivated area after bananas, worldwide. Despite the apple industry's success, the apple scab disease poses a serious problem for commercial orchards around the world. Apple scab is caused by the ascomycete fungus Venturia inaequalis, which affects both leaves and fruits of most apple trees, leading to significant economic losses, except for the cultivars that show monogenic or complex resistance. Due to the eight physiological races of the pathogen identified to date and their ability to proliferate in various ecological conditions, the disease still remains difficult to control in apple orchards. Numerous, expensive and phenological stage-specific treatments need to be applied during the vegetative period in order to keep this disease under control. In this context, the use of scab-resistant apple cultivars becomes a reliable and promising alternative for cost-effective and profitable orchard management. Therefore, this review focuses on current trends and details regarding the genetic determination of apple scab resistance (both vertical and horizontal) and their association to achieve complex resistance. The review also describes the genes involved and the phenomenon of apple scab resistance breakdown. Special attention is given to Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) and specific markers for scab resistance, which are frequently used in current apple breeding programs.

Keywords

Malus x domestica, MAS, scab resistance genes, vertical resistance, horizontal resistance

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