Chojuro and Niitaka as parents in Asian Pear breeding

 

Red are named pears out of Japanese breeding programs with Chojuro as one parent. Blue are pears with Chojuro as one grandparent. Green are pears with Chojuro as one great-grandparent. Cyan are pears with Chojuro as a great-great grandparent. Aqua is a pear with Chojuro as a great^3 parent.

Pears bred in Korea

Source of graphic

Niitaka shows up as parent in 7-of-9 pears released by breeding programs in Korea. That contradicts the parents of record in five-of-six cases.

Niitaka has Chojuro as one of its parents.

Prepotent breeders are a two-edged sword. The breeder produces high percentages of seedlings with desirable characteristics but over multiple generations there is the risk of an ever-narrowing genetic base for the crop.