Articles
Evaluation of the frost tolerance of new apricot accessions
Article number
1457_31
Pages
245 – 252
Language
English
Abstract
The occurrence of late spring frosts characterizes temperate climatic regions suitable for apricot cultivation in Central Europe.
Apricots are among the commodities sensitive to frost damage, whose damage can have fatal consequences for fruit production.
Therefore, this work evaluates the resilience of several apricot cultivars to frost damage in flower buds.
Over two years, 26 genotypes were evaluated, among which were six commercial cultivars (‘Betinka’, ‘Candela’, ‘Harcot’, ‘Harogem’, ‘Leskora’, ‘Sophinka’) and 20 new selections.
Trees were grafted on St Julien A rootstock and planted at a density of 1,000 trees ha-1 in Eastern Bohemia (Czech Republic) in 2016. The trees were left without an irrigation system.
From each genotype, 15 buds were taken at the balloon bud phenophase BBCH 59 in 3 repetitions evenly from the crown volume.
The sampling was preceded by spring frosts, which damage the generative organs of apricots.
Air temperatures during the development of flower buds were recorded using a meteorological station.
Damage to pistils was evaluated in the laboratory.
The degree of damage to generative organs was expressed as a percentage.
The date of flowering was recorded for each single tree.
Among the commercial cultivars, ‘Harogem’ and ‘Harcot’ were the most affected, with 17.43 and 14.10% damage, respectively.
Similar damage was observed in 5 genotypes, with the most serious damage in ‘00-008’ (20.63%). Conversely, the least affected were genotypes ‘Candela’ (2.15%), ‘VOJ 5/150’ (2.15%), ‘96-599’, and ‘08-015’, all with a damage value of 3.26%. ‘Leskora’ and ‘Betinka’, which were expected to have high tolerance of generative organs to frost damage, were found to have damage of 5.35 and 7.74%, respectively.
These genotypes appeared to be better suited for growing in locations with a risk of spring frost occurrence.
Apricots are among the commodities sensitive to frost damage, whose damage can have fatal consequences for fruit production.
Therefore, this work evaluates the resilience of several apricot cultivars to frost damage in flower buds.
Over two years, 26 genotypes were evaluated, among which were six commercial cultivars (‘Betinka’, ‘Candela’, ‘Harcot’, ‘Harogem’, ‘Leskora’, ‘Sophinka’) and 20 new selections.
Trees were grafted on St Julien A rootstock and planted at a density of 1,000 trees ha-1 in Eastern Bohemia (Czech Republic) in 2016. The trees were left without an irrigation system.
From each genotype, 15 buds were taken at the balloon bud phenophase BBCH 59 in 3 repetitions evenly from the crown volume.
The sampling was preceded by spring frosts, which damage the generative organs of apricots.
Air temperatures during the development of flower buds were recorded using a meteorological station.
Damage to pistils was evaluated in the laboratory.
The degree of damage to generative organs was expressed as a percentage.
The date of flowering was recorded for each single tree.
Among the commercial cultivars, ‘Harogem’ and ‘Harcot’ were the most affected, with 17.43 and 14.10% damage, respectively.
Similar damage was observed in 5 genotypes, with the most serious damage in ‘00-008’ (20.63%). Conversely, the least affected were genotypes ‘Candela’ (2.15%), ‘VOJ 5/150’ (2.15%), ‘96-599’, and ‘08-015’, all with a damage value of 3.26%. ‘Leskora’ and ‘Betinka’, which were expected to have high tolerance of generative organs to frost damage, were found to have damage of 5.35 and 7.74%, respectively.
These genotypes appeared to be better suited for growing in locations with a risk of spring frost occurrence.
Publication
Authors
P. Suran
Keywords
Prunus armeniaca, spring frost, generative organs, bloom, flower damage
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