This is the first volume in a three volume comprehensive reference work presenting detailed information on the breeding of horticultural crops. In a systematic way, the work presents: the history and commercial importance of each fruit, the origin and early development of cultivation, regional characteristics, breeding objectives, fruit characteristics such as color and shape, and disease resistance. Volume 1 deals with tree fruits: Apples, Apricots, Avocado, Banana/Plantain, Cherry, Peach, Pear, and Plum.

Plant breeding has undergone a period of very rapid and significant development in recent years and the area of fruit breeding is no exception. This book provides a balanced, up-to-date and comprehensive account of the developments in the field of breeding tropical and subtropical fruits. It offers not only the theoretical and applied aspects of breedings fruits but also provides an authoritative manual of the conventional and new techniques used for increasing efficiency of crop improvement programmes. In specific chapters the book deals with crop taxonomy, genetic resources, floral biology, breeding objectives, inheritance patterns and information on new improved cultivars/hybrids.

This book examines economically important horticultural crops selected from the major production systems in temperate, subtropical and tropical climatic areas. The general aspects of the tropical climate, fruit production techniques, tree management and postharvest handling and the principal tropical fruit crops that are common in temperate city markets are discussed. The taxonomy, cultivars, propagation and orchard management, biotic and abiotic problems and cultivar development of these fruit crops are also highlighted.

This book examines the development of innovative modern methodologies towards augmenting conventional plant breeding for the production of new crop varieties, under the increasingly limiting environmental and cultivation factors, to achieve sustainable agricultural production and enhanced food security. Two volumes of Advances in Plant Breeding Strategies were published in 2015 and 2016, respectively; Volume 1: Breeding, Biotechnology and Molecular Tools and Volume 2: Agronomic, Abiotic and Biotic Stress Traits. This is Volume 3: Fruits, which is focused on advances in breeding strategies for the improvement of individual fruit crops. It consists of 23 chapters grouped into three parts, according to distribution classification of fruit trees: Part I, Temperate Fruits, Part II, Subtropical Fruits, and Part III, Tropical Fruits. Each chapter comprehensively reviews the modern literature on the subject and reflects the authors' own experience.

Fruit Breeding is an art and science demanding prolonged time, space and intrinsic qualities. Seed propagation leads to heterogeneity and asexual propagation of elite clones’ leads to newer and novel types. There are temperate, sub-tropical and tropical fruits differing in photo and thermo periodic requirements. There are also parthenocarpic and apomictic fruit trees demanding special breeding methods for improvement. Aroma, taste and flavor are unique to fruits unlike other horticultural crops like vegetables, spices, plantation crops and tubers. The book unravels history of fruit breeding, biodiversity, challenges approaches and prospects, apomixes, mutation breeding, role of insects in fruit production, molecular markers, statistical techniques, rootstock breeding, breeding of mango, citrus, banana, papaya, guava, sapota, jackfruit, sugarapple/sweetsop Indian jujube and jamun. The 20 s in the book authored by 15 scientists from six Research Institutes and Universities expose readers to a new world of fruit breeding, very seldom ventured by breeders.