Prunus Dormancy and Breeding

Dear Colleagues,

Prunus is a genus of trees and shrubs that includes a wide range of fruiting trees including those bearing plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, almonds, and so on. More than 400 different species are classified under Prunus, and they are native to temperate regions. Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for their fruit. Like many other temperate species, Prunus species undergo a dormancy period in the autumn and winter and must be protected under potentially damaging climatic conditions. This dormancy period is overcome when a sufficient winter chill is accumulated, depending on each cultivar.

According to the forecast of the Intergovernmental Panel on the Climatic Change (IPPC), in the next 30 years, there will be an increase in the average temperatures on the planet of the order of 2°C. A lack of winter chilling is a limiting factor for the cultivation of temperate fruit trees. This will require us to release and cultivate new lower-chilling-requiring cultivars to break dormancy.

This Special Issue on “Prunus Dormancy and Breeding” aims to improve the knowledge on Prunus dormancy and on breeding strategies to face the forecasted lack of winter chill. We encourage the submission of original research papers as well as review papers dealing with new advances in Prunus adaptive genetics, genomics, genome editing techniques, population genetics, and breeding.

Dr. Jose A. Egea
Dr. David Ruiz
Dr. Raquel Sánchez-Pérez
Guest Editors

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