Plum Tree Suplum59 Hybridization for Large Fruit and High Brix
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a new and distinct variety of plum tree that produces large, reddish-black fruit with yellow flesh, which ripens late in the season and has a higher brix content, addressing the limitations of existing plum varieties in terms of fruit characteristics and ripening time.
Innovation Solution
The development of the Prunus salicina cv. 'Suplum59' through hybridization, characterized by its unique fruit characteristics, including large size, reddish-black skin, yellow flesh, and higher brix content, achieved through asexual propagation methods such as dormant grafting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If existing plum varieties are used, then they have established fruit characteristics, but they lack the combination of large size, yellow flesh, high brix content, and late ripening time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple desirable traits from different parent varieties through hybridization. The seed parent 'PL968RB' contributes reddish-black skin color, while the pollen parent contributes yellow flesh, large fruit size (averaging 150g), high brix content (22%), and late ripening timing. This merging of genetic material creates a new variety that exhibits all these characteristics simultaneously, which were not present in either parent variety alone.
2Loss of time
If early ripening varieties are selected, then they are available earlier in the season, but they have lower brix content and smaller fruit size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves a significant shift in the ripening parameter, with the new variety ripening approximately 48 days later than the seed parent 'PL968RB'. This temporal parameter change allows the fruit to develop larger size (150g average weight), higher brix content (22%), and yellow flesh color, demonstrating how changing the timing parameter enables the achievement of multiple other desirable characteristics.
3Adaptability or versatility
If hybridization is performed to create new varieties, then unique fruit characteristics can be achieved, but the process requires asexual propagation to maintain consistency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asexual propagation methods (dormant grafting, cuttings) to create exact genetic copies of the hybrid plant. This copying process ensures that the unique fruit characteristics achieved through hybridization (large size, yellow flesh, high brix, late ripening) are perfectly replicated in all propagated plants, maintaining genetic consistency and uniformity across the cultivar without requiring repeated hybridization events.
Data Source
AI summary
A new and distinct variety of plum tree, Prunus salicina, cv. ‘Suplum59’, is characterized by having fruit that is very large, with reddish-black skin and yellow flesh that ripens late in the season. The fruit of the new variety ‘Suplum59’ also has firm flesh, a very sweet flavor and a stone that is adherent to the flesh.