Many apple varieties commonly planted in the United States a century ago can no longer be found in today's orchards and nurseries. Abandoned farmsteads and historic orchards harbor considerable agrobiodiversity, but the extent and location of that diversity is poorly understood. We assessed the genetic diversity of 280 apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) trees growing in 43 historic farmstead and orchard sites in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico using seven microsatellite markers. We compared the samples to 109 cultivars likely introduced into the southwest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Genetic analysis revealed 144 genotypes represented in the 280 field samples. We identified 34 of these 144 genotypes as cultivars brought to the region by Stark Brothers Nursery and by USDA agricultural experiment stations. One hundred twenty of the total samples (43%) had DNA fingerprints that suggested they were representative of these 34 cultivars. The remaining 160 samples—representing 110 genotypes—had unique fingerprints that did not match any of the fingerprinted cultivars. The results of this study confirm for the first time that a high diversity of historic apple genotypes remain in homestead orchards in the U.S. southwest. Future efforts targeting orchards in the southwest should focus on conservation for all unique genotypes as a means to sustain both cultural heritage and biological genetic diversity.
The Agricultural Experiment Stations in the United States
