LOQUAT: PROGRESS AND EXPECTATIONS

Loquat species are native to China. It is grown in temperate and subtropical areas, sharing the same environmental areas as citrus. The main producing country in the world is China, although there is production in Mediterranean countries and Japan. Most of the cultivars come from selection of chance seedlings, however, there is germplasm collected that included the diversity generated where the species was spread. Currently, breeding programs focused on the creation of new cultivars that meet the farmers’ and consumers’ demands are being carried out in China, Japan, and Spain. Development of molecular markers for assisted selection, genetic diversity studies and new breeding techniques are providing new tools for breeding progress. Exploitation of the polyploidy provides opportunities for reaching new types of fruits including seedlessness, increase in fruit quality, and enhanced productivity. Loquat should benefit from improvement of biotechnology applied to breeding. The species has possibilities of becoming an important crop in subtropical and Mediterranean climates.