Plum trees are one of the most important and widely cultivated fruit crops in temperate regions all over the world. In India, Japanese plums were introduced by European colonists and missioners. The area currently destined to plum cultivation covers around 8,560 hectares, producing approximately 16 thousand tons. Orchards are located between 900 and 1600 metres above sea levels and are characterised by excellent climate conditions for plum cultivaton.
Santa Rosa is the main cultivar, used for over 90% of the orchards in Himachal Pradesh. The predominance of a single cultivar leads to excessive produce available, so producers cannot obtain profitable prices.
In order to meet changing consumer preferences and the extended harvesting season, varietal diversification with genetically improved cultivars is necessary. International selection programmes are focusing on increasing fruit yield and quality, extending the season and developing cultivars that are resistant and/or tolerant to biotic and abiotic stress.
In Himachal Pradesh, it is possible to extend the cultivated area by introducing new cultivars, but these must be carefully assessed. For this reason, researchers at the Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry Nauni assessed four new introductions - Frate, Duarte, Black Amber and Shiro - and compared them with four existing cultivars (Santa Rosa, Frontier, Red Beaut and Mariposa). The study was carried out with the following objectives: (i) to assess new plum cultivars and to establish a database for their future use, (ii) to verify whether new introductions can coexist with existing cultivars.
"The preliminary study carried out on different Japanese plum cultivars revealed that the Shiro cultivar is vigorous while Black Amber and Duarte are promising due to their biochemical characteristics. Therefore, Black Amber and Duarte can also be suitable for cultivation in Himachal Pradesh and could be better alternatives to extend the harvesting season, satisfy consumer preferences and increase profitability."
Source: Mukesh Kumar, DD Sharma, Niranjan Singh and Bunty Shylla, 'Evaluation of newly introduced plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) cultivars under mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh', 2018, International Journal of Chemical Studies, Vol. 6 (2), pag. 2925-2930.
