The study presents the behaviour of 28 apricot cultivars planted in 2017 in the Experimental Field of the Faculty of Horticulture within the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest. The foreign cultivars grafted on Myrobalan 29C, Saint Julien A and GF 677, were planted at 4.5 x 1.5 m and 3.5 x 2.0 m for Parallel U and respectively, 3.5 x 2.0 m for Trident canopy. Trees vegetative growth was evaluated by analysing the trunk cross section, tree height, fruiting branches number and length. First fruit yield was heighted and the productivity index was calculated. The results show differences in growth correlated with the canopy, cultivars and used rootstocks. Correlations between analysed parameters are presented. As a conclusion, the differences between the two canopies, Parallel U and Trident, using different types of rootstocks show their influence on the annual vegetative growth and on apricot trees productivity. Some preliminary conclusions can be drawn regarding the advantages and disadvantages of using the two canopies in apricot orchards.

The present study aims to generalize cultivar-specific tree phenology responses to winter and spring temperatures and assess the effectiveness of the Tabuenca test and various chill and heat accumulation models in predicting bloom dates for a wide range of climatic conditions and years. To this end, we estimated the dates of rest completion and blooming and correlated them with observed bloom dates for 14 peach and nectarine cultivars that were evaluated in 11 locations across Europe (Greece, France, Italy, Romania and Spain), within the EUFRIN cultivar testing trial network. Chill accumulation varied considerably among the studied sites, ranging from 45 Chill Portions (CP) in Murcia-Torre Pacheco (Spain) to 97–98 CP in Cuneo (Italy) and Bucharest (Romania). Rest completion occurred latest or was not achieved at all for some cultivars in the southern sites in Murcia. Dormancy release happened earliest in Bucharest and Cuneo, sites where heat accumulation had a strong influence on the regulation of bloom time. Blooming occurred earliest in the moderately cold regions of Lleida (Spain) and Bellegarde (France), and 7–11 days later in the warmer locations of Rome (Italy) and Naoussa (Greece), suggesting that bloom timing is strongly influenced by delayed rest completion in these locations. The Dynamic Model resulted in both more homogeneous chill accumulation across years and better predictions of bloom dates, compared with the Utah, Positive Utah and Chilling Hours models. Prediction of bloom dates was less successful for low-chill cultivars than for medium- and high-chill cultivars. Further climatic and experimental data are needed to make estimates of the climatic needs of peach cultivars more robust and to generate reliable advice for enhancing the resilience of peach production under varying and changing climatic conditions.

One of the present challenges of food production is to bring on the market innovative products with special nutraceutical properties that can fulfill the customers' needs. The aim of this paper is to present some original data regarding the sensorial analysis and the customers perceptions on innovative jam obtained from organic rose petals.On 1,350 sqm plot, at the UASVM of Bucharest an organic rose culture was established in 2015 with three climbing varieties: Falstaff, Brother Cadfael and Crown Princess Margareta. From the end of June 2016, the petals were collected and used for jam preparation. Besides sugar, different ingredients as: ginger, lemon juice, sea buckthorn juice and hot pepper were added. Total soluble solids and total dry matter were measured.The final products, seventeen variants of rose jam, were analyzed and tasted. Sensorial analysis was made by consumers of different ages and gender. Jam appearance, general taste, aroma, and the overall impression were noticed. V4 variant -Brother Cadfael with sea buckthorn was the most appreciated variant. For each of these top variants, target group by gender and age was analyzed. The results showed that the customers' preferences are influenced by age and gender and the organic rose jam is a highly appreciated product.

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In the present study, three climbing edible roses (‘Crown Princess Margareta’, ‘Falstaff’ and ‘Brother Cadfael’) were evaluated for total vegetative growth and flowers production, besides correlations with soil microbiological and agrochemical parameters. The applied organic technology included a soil preparatory stage with three ameliorative plants (Sinapis alba L., Phacelia tanacetifolia L. and Tagetes patula L.) and two organic mulch variants (wood chips and wool) after plantation. In variant Sinapis and Tagetes, all three varieties of roses showed the highest values for parameters: total vegetative growth, number of shoots, average shoots length and flowers number. Significant positive correlations between biometric parameters and soil bacteria, phosphorus, mineral nitrogen, potassium (0-20 cm horizon) and humus (20-40 cm horizon) content were observed. Significant positive correlations between the number of flowers and the soil respiration coefficient, soil content in phosphorus, potassium, humus, total soluble salts and mineral nitrogen were noticed. Negative correlations with soil pH have been observed. Taking into account the data obtained in the two flowering stages in 2017, the average yield per hectare cultivated with ‘Crown Princess Margareta’ was 9.44 t petals/ha. For the ‘Falstaff’ and ‘Brother Cadafael’ cultivars, the yields were 7.54 and 5.62 t petals per hectare respectively.