Japan: technique could bear apples in one year's time - FreshFruitPortal.com

Japan: technique could bear apples in one year's time

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Japan: technique could bear apples in one year's time

A new, rapidly developing generation of apples may lie ahead, following a cultivation breakthrough by Japenese researchers, the-japan-news.com reported.

The team, lead by Iwate University's Nobuyuki Yoshikawa, says it has found a method to push seedlings to produce fruit in less than a year, compared to the standard 10-to-12 years.

The technique was developed using a non-virulent virus that was extracted from apples and combined with two genes that accelerate flowering.

The virus is implanted in recently sprouted seedlings, accelerating development.

Trees from the seedlings reportedly began flowering after one-and-a-half months and bore fruit 11 months after transmission of the virus.

The method does not change genetic makeup and seeds taken from the apples have germinated normally.

There was no reported impact on insect life.

"By repeating cultivation of apples by this technique, it will be possible to grow several generations of apples in a short period of time," Yoshikawa said in the Japanese publication.

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