Technical and socioeconomic challenges to setting and implementing priorities in North American rosaceous fruit breeding programs

Rosaceous crops (e.g., almond, apple, apricot, caneberry, cherry, pear, peach, plum, rose, and strawberry) contribute to human health and well-being and collectively constitute the economic backbone of numerous NorthAmerican rural communities.We conducted a survey of U.S. and Canadian rosaceous fruit crop breeders to assess priority setting in their programs, sources of information for setting priorities, and challenges in making technical and management decisions. Input from producers and consumers was most important in establishing breeding program targets, although respondents' direct interaction with consumers was not frequent. Breeding targets and management decisions were mostly associated with the breeder's type of organization, scope and range of crops, and intended use of the crop (fresh, processed, or both).