Donors of diploid gametes in apple breeding at the polyploid level

An agrobiological and cytoembryological assessment of eight apple tetraploid varieties and a number of tetraploid seedlings, the donors of diploid gametes, is given. A high breeding value of seedlings from hybridization at the polyploid level is noted. A brief economic and biological characterization of 13 new apple varieties of different ploidy obtained from intervalent crosses is given.