Trends in Public and Private Peach Breeding in the Republic of Korea

Peaches (including nectarines) are the fifth most important deciduous fruit in the Republic of Korea after apples, grapes, persimmons, and pears. Usually consumed as fresh fruit, 217,000 metric tons of peaches were produced in the country in 2015, and the total cultivated area was 16,704 ha. Peaches and nectarines account for 82% and 18%, respectively, of cultivated area in the Republic of Korea. The Republic of Korea's National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science (NIHHS), a division of the Rural Development Administration, initiated a public peach breeding program in 1961. The main purpose of this program has been to breed new peach cultivars to satisfy consumers and producers through the development of high-quality fruit and improved shelf life. 'Yumyeong', a white peach, was the first cultivar bred by the NIHHS, and was released in 1977. This peach has a good shelf life and firm flesh. To date, the NIHHS has released 10 peach and 4 nectarine cultivars through the national peach breeding program. 'Yumyeong' has been used as a main cross parent to improve fruit size, sweetness, and shelf life. It was a cross parent for 4 of the 10 peach cultivars bred by the NIHHS. The passage and implementation of the Seed Industry Law in December 1997 and subsequent membership in the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants has encouraged private breeders to release new cultivars. As a result, the number of such cultivars has increased annually. As of 2015, 108 applications for new cultivars have been submitted under the Plant Variety Protection legislation, and private breeders have released 87 of these cultivars. Most of these cultivars originated from bud sports of other key cultivars, such as 'Yumyeong', and chance seedlings.