InnOBreed CASE STUDY - Breeding of robust peach and apple cultivars for organic production - BOKU, Austria

The University of natural resources and life sciences (BOKU) in Vienna, Austria, is distinguished by its holistic approach to research and teaching. BOKU’s scientists,
students and graduates work on solutions for the protection and sustainable use of our natural resources.
At the Institute of viticulture and pomology, basic and applied research, as well as teaching, address topics along the whole value chain of the wine and fruit industry
concerning their biological, economic and social implications within their environments. The institute provides innovative and independent research and believes in knowledge sharing by science-driven teaching, international cooperation and connection with other disciplines.The main focus of the activities is to find robust apple and peach varieties for organic and extensive production from regional gene banks or bred in Austria. In this way, BOKU is promoting the organic peach breeding project and the evaluation of cultivars (mainly apples) in non-treated orchards of some partner organisations.
On the basis of long-term observations in an organically managed orchard with many peach cultivars planted in 2003, the first crosses of identified suitable genitors in peach were done in 2017 and continued the following years. For apples, some of the first crossing experiments were started in 2018, but the process to identify suitable genetic resources is still ongoing, especially for the local ones.