Expediting Apple Breeding: Integrating Bud Sport Identi ication and Genetic Profiling in North Western Himalayan Orchards

Apple breeding is traditionally a lengthy process due to the prolonged juvenile phase, making the development of new cultivars time- consuming. However, the occurrence of bud sport (spontaneous mutations in speci ic branches) offers a more rapid alternative for variety development compared to conventional breeding. Bud sports allow for vegetative propagation of the mutated part and molecular approaches enable early detection of genetic variation during growth. The North Western Himalayan region, particularly in areas such as Shimla, Kinnaur and Lahaul & Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, is exposed to high levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sun, which increases the likelihood of bud sport formation. However, the study faced challenges, such as distinguishing true bud sports from environmental or developmental variations that can mimic mutations, complicating the identi ication process. Additionally, the high UV exposure, while promoting bud sport formation, also risks causing detrimental mutations that could affect fruit quality or tree health. A preliminary survey conducted in these orchards identi ied six bud sports. Samples were collected from these trees for both fruit characterization and molecular analysis of the leaves. Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) primers were employed for the molecular study. Among the six bud sports, two exhibited signi icant genetic variations, while the remaining four displayed morphological differences from the mother trees. The genetically distinct bud sports were vegetatively propagated and maintained under controlled conditions for further study. This approach highlights the potential of bud sport selection, combined with molecular techniques, to accelerate apple breeding.