Transmission of Biochemical Flavor Constituents from Apricot and Plum to their Interspecific Hybrid

Intact fruit from five plum × apricot hybrids, two Japanese plums and seven apricots were sampled for their volatile constituents by headspace analysis to study the transmission of biochemical flavor constituents from apricot and plum to hybrids between them. Volatiles were collected in Tenax traps, eluted with ether, and examined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Forty-one compounds from seven chemical classes were identified in the fruit samples. Seven of the identified volatiles were unique to plumcot, and not present in either the plum or apricot parent. Aromatic profiles from plumcot accessions more closely resemble apricot profiles rather than plum.