Articles
The effect of different levels of winter chill accumulation on potential productivity and floral biology in apricot cultivars
Article number
1450_35
Pages
269 – 276
Language
English
Abstract
Dormancy in temperate fruit trees allows to cope with adverse winter conditions.
In apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.), erratic yields are frequent due to insufficient chill and consequently an inadequate chill requirement fulfilment.
In the mild winter areas of the Murcia Region (southeastern Spain), warm temperatures from autumn to spring have negatively affected an optimal dormancy progression, resulting in floral anomalies and reduced yields in recent years.
In this study, we evaluated whether the satisfaction of chill requirement (CR) influences fruit set and other floral biology traits such as pollen quality and pistil abortion in two contrasting climatic zones.
The fulfilment of cultivar-specific CR had an important effect in both the percentage of flower buds reaching bloom and ultimately, the percentage of fruit set.
For cultivars with high CR, fruit set was more than double in cold/mild sites compared to warm sites.
However, insufficient chill accumulation may not be solely responsible for the increase in other floral anomalies such as aborted pistils or pollen quality.
These flowering quality traits appear to be largely genetically determined, with other environmental factors also playing a crucial role.
Ensuring an adequate dormancy release through the fulfilment of CR is crucial for the intensity and quality of flowering, which is likely the primary factor associated with cultivar adaptation to specific climate conditions.
In apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.), erratic yields are frequent due to insufficient chill and consequently an inadequate chill requirement fulfilment.
In the mild winter areas of the Murcia Region (southeastern Spain), warm temperatures from autumn to spring have negatively affected an optimal dormancy progression, resulting in floral anomalies and reduced yields in recent years.
In this study, we evaluated whether the satisfaction of chill requirement (CR) influences fruit set and other floral biology traits such as pollen quality and pistil abortion in two contrasting climatic zones.
The fulfilment of cultivar-specific CR had an important effect in both the percentage of flower buds reaching bloom and ultimately, the percentage of fruit set.
For cultivars with high CR, fruit set was more than double in cold/mild sites compared to warm sites.
However, insufficient chill accumulation may not be solely responsible for the increase in other floral anomalies such as aborted pistils or pollen quality.
These flowering quality traits appear to be largely genetically determined, with other environmental factors also playing a crucial role.
Ensuring an adequate dormancy release through the fulfilment of CR is crucial for the intensity and quality of flowering, which is likely the primary factor associated with cultivar adaptation to specific climate conditions.
Publication
Authors
A. Delgado, A.M. Muñoz-Morales, J.A. Egea, D. Ruiz
Keywords
adaptation, chill requirements, flowering, fruit set, pollen quality, Prunus armeniaca
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