Fruit scientific research in New China in the past 70 years:Persimmon

Abstract: China is one of the origin countries of persimmon, and has the longest cultivation history and the largest production area and the annual output in the world. Based on the fruit astringency character and the genetic controls of the astringency trait, persimmon cultivars are classified into pollination constant & non-astringent(PCNA) type and non-PCNA type. The PCNA type persimmon can be further divided into two types based on the genetic control of the PCNA trait, the Chinese PCNA type(CPCNA)and the Japanese PCNA type(JPCNA), while the non-PCNA type can be divided into pollination variant & non-astringent(PVNA) type, pollination-variant & astringent(PVA) type, and pollination constant & astringent(PCA) type according to the relation of astringency loss to the formation and accumulation of volatile compounds in flesh. This review addresses the main problems existing in persimmon industry in China and the involved scientific and key technical problems. Based on scientific papers,monographs, and awarded achievements obtained especially since the reform and opening up, we systematically summarized the development and main achievements in persimmon science and technology in the past seventy years in China. With 70 years' development, especially since the reform and opening up 40 years ago, we have clarify persimmon germplasm resources in China, established a technology system for genetic improvement of persimmon, and made systematic achievements in the evaluation and utilization of germplasm resources in CPCNA persimmon. Viewed from the present status and developing trends of persimmon industry in China, persimmon research and development is relatively dispersed with lots of repeated works under unstable and insufficient financial support. The enterprises involved in persimmon industry are generally small in scale, especially the processing enterprises, which are mainly“small workshops”. And the marketing channel is relatively weak, and the persimmon farmers are facing large risk from market with poor benefits. East Asia is the traditional production area of persimmon. In the recent 10 years, commercial production has also developed in other Asian countries as well as in Europe and the United States. From the perspective of scientific research and industrial technology development, Japan is still at the highest level in the world; other countries such as South Korea, Israel, Spain and Italy are also developing rapidly. In terms of industrial scale, China is the largest country of persimmon production in the world, but there is still a clear gap in per unit area yield and the benefits compared with the developed regions. In recent years, the persimmon industry in Spain has grown rapidly due to the rapid entry of many medium and large enterprises into this field, which has promoted the development of persimmon production technology in all aspects. In the future, for the sustainable development of persimmon industry in China, attention should be paid upon:(1) continue to increase fund support for basic research and technology development to stabilize the industrial technology R & D team with appropriate scale;(2) government involvement in market promotion and organization of the“industrial community”composed of leading enterprises, professional cooperatives and farmers so as to improve "technology content" in the industry and reduce market risks, so that farmers will not directly face the market;(3) development of the large-scale deastringency and crispness-keeping technology system in persimmon fruit, so as to improve the economic benefits of the non-PCNA persimmon industry which occupies the main share;(4) research and development for deep processing to improve the added value of persimmon;(5) modernization of the traditional technology, transformation of the applicability of the introduced technology, adoption and assimilation of the advanced technology in other fruit trees, and construction of labor-saving and standardized system for high-quality and safe production.