Rubus coreanus as donor of resistance to cane diseases and mildew in red raspberry breeding

Summary Strong resistance to the cane diseases Elsinoë veneta, Didymella applanata and Botrytis cinerea, and to Sphaerotheca macularis, occurred in F₁ and BC₁ derivatives of an accession of Rubus coreanus. Resistance to cane spot (E. veneta) was polygenic.In eight out of ten BC₁ progenies, average grades for cane spot infections were significantly higher in white-flowered (an₁) than pink-flowered (An₁) plants and in hairy-caned (H) than in glabrous (h) seedlings. It is postulated that in R. coreanus factors controlling resistance are linked with An₁ and. probably, with h.Average grades for spur blight (D. applanata) were significantly higher in white-flowered plants in nine out of ten BC₁ progenies. Spininess (S) was associated with greater susceptibility in six out of eight BC₁ families, although this difference was not statistically significant.Plants with the phenotype hAn₁ on average provided the best source of resistance to both cane spot and spur blight.