Screening of a molecular marker for association to maturity date in peach fruit

Maturity date (MD) represents a key trait in peach given the relatively short shelf-life of peach, and the selection of cultivars with varying MD to cover and possibly extend the marketing season constitutes a key target for varietal innovation. A number of studies have identified different QTLs associated to this trait, mainly in the Linkage Groups (LG) 2, 4 and 6; and in particular, a region within LG4 was ascertained as strongly associated with harvesting time in different segregating populations. The evaluation of the association of such diagnostic markers in a wider germplasm collection would provide the breeder interesting information in selecting the best candidate for the desired ripening period and in the early identification and selection of progenies carrying the wanted trait in their breeding programs. We thus performed a comparative study using a candidate marker mapping in LG4 in order to assess its predictive power in a pool of peach and nectarine cultivars inclusive of traditional and modern germplasm to ease the early identification and selection of desired ripening genotypes in breeding programs.