Studies on hybridization in apple(Malus x domestica borkh)

Apples, the most familiar of all temperate fruits, are grown throughout the world in innumerable varieties. The cultivated apples is now referred to as Malus x domestica Borkh. (Korban and Skirvin, 1984), though many other names, particularly Malus pumila Mill, have been used in the literature. It is a member of family Rosaceae and sub-family Maloideae, formerly known as Pomoideae (Challice, 1981). The majority of the cultivated apples are functional diploids (2n=34). Darligton and Moffett (1930) suggested that apples are complex polyploids, being partly tetraploids and partly hexaploids with basic chromosome number of x = 7, which is common in Rosaceae.