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Title: ORIGIN AND DISSEMINATION OF PLUMS

Author
item Faust, Miklos
item SURANYI, DEZSO - FRUIT RESEARCH, HUNGARY

Submitted to: Horticultural Reviews
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/14/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: No Interpretive Summary required for Review Article.

Technical Abstract: The article discusses the origin of various plum species, development of plum cultivars throughout the centuries, and present day distribution of production. The first archeological information on wild plums species dates back to Ukraine to 4000 B.C. Between this time and about 300 B.C. only seeds of Damson plum and sloe were found in graves. Prunus domestica, the garden plum or prune, and the Japanese plum have no wild ancestors. The origin of garden plum is likely to be hybrid and developed or found in eastern Turkey. Because of the hybrid origin there are several subgroups of this species including the Reine-Claude and Yellow egg plums. Another species, P. insititia, includes the Mirabelle and St. Julien plum groups. The origin and development of all these plums are detailed. There are several American species which were sparingly used by the Indians as fruit in their diet. The improvement of American species started early in the 19th century and continued until about 1960. Luther Burbank combined many plum species and cultivars and developed a new group of plums which are the basis of the plum production today. In contrast the prune industry is based on an ancient cultivar, 'Agen', that dates back to time of the Crusades and was imported to California in 1856 under the name of 'French Prune'. Present production of plums worldwide is estimated at 7.2 million tons. United States production is about one million tons, 60% of which is used for dried prune production.