This book is intended to be a brief compilation of the information available on the breeding of temperate fruit crops. The goal is to provide overviews on the evolution of each crop, the history of domestication, the breeding methods employed and the underlying genetics. A serious effort is made to fully integrate conventional and biotechnological breeding approaches. A discussion is also provided on licensing and patenting. It is hoped that this book can be used as a springboard for breeders desiring an update, horticulturalists who wonder what the fruit breeders are doing and geno- cists who are searching for a way to contribute to fruit breeding efforts. By far the fastest progress can be made when we all talk the same language. This manuscript is in many regards an update of the information found in Fruit Breeding, Volumes 1 and 2, edited by J. Janick and J. N. Moore (1996). The major difference is that much more molecular information is now available on fruit crops. Molecular linkage maps have been produced for many of the commercial species and the ?rst quantitative trait loci are being tagged and selected through marker assisted breeding. Regeneration and transformation systems are available for many of the fruit crops and potentially useful genes have been cloned and characterized. Fruit breeders will soon have all the tools in their tool box that the grain breeders have had for over a decade.
