GROWTH, YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY OF VIRUS-INFECTED AND VIRUS-FREE GOLDEN DELICIOUS APPLE TREES, 1968 – 1982

A trial to compare the pomological characteristics of several virus- free and virus-infected sources of Golden Delicious was planted in the spring of 1968 and rogued in the spring of 1982.

Virus-free trees produced more wood, higher yields and smoother fruits than virus-infected ones, though the production-efficiency (kg of apples/kg of wood) of virus-free trees was worse.

Differences with respect to the smoothness of the fruit-skin between the different virus-free sources were also recorded, demonstrating the existence of genetic variation within the variety Golden Delicious.
This underlines the need of selection for pomological characteristics also after the selection for virus-freedom.

The trees planted as virus-free in the spring of 1968 were still free of chlorotic leaf spot and stem grooving at the end of the trial despite their interplanting with infected trees.
Apparently no natural spread of these viruses occurred in this high density-plantation, not even via root-contacts.

XII International Symposium on Fruit Tree Virus Diseases

H.J. van Oosten, C.A.R. Meijneke, H. Peerbooms

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1983.130.36