Cultivar and accessions of fig (Ficus carica L.) for breba production selected within the autochthonous germplasm of Calabria (South Italy)

Many morphological and qualitative characteristics were evaluated on brebas from 40 autochthonous fig accessions from Calabria in 2019 with the aim to select superior genotypes and create new commercial orchards for breba production. An evaluation scale based on weighting fruit characteristics and both local and global consumer preferences was developed to compare overall performance of each studied accession. The results relating to ripening time of the studied 40 accessions showed that it is possible to have a market offer period of 40 days both for accessions that produce fruits with yellow or green skin and for those that produce fruits with purple or black skin. The weighted analysis of the fruit characteristics allowed the best accessions to be identified for each ripening time and type of skin color. This study allowed us to select from the Calabrian fig germplasm the most interesting and appropriate range of varieties for the breba production according to the market needs taking into account the ripening time and the color of the fruit.