Bloody-fleshed nectarines, plum pox–resistant stone fruit, and super-sweet apricots are a few examples of the products being developed at a government-supported stone-fruit–breeding program in southeastern France. While France is not the biggest European producer of peaches, nectarines, and apricots, stone fruit play an important role in the country’s tree fruit industry. France ranks third in the European Union for peach production, behind Italy and Spain, with an average annual production of 400,000 tons. Annual apricot production averages 180,000 tons, about 6 percent of the world’s apricot production of 2.7 million tons. Stone fruit cultivar and rootstock breeding programs are a […]