Study of cherry agrobiological and biochemical values depending on the breeding method

Abstract

In 2018–2020, in the Federal Research Centre of Horticulture in the Leninsky district of the Moscow region, a research study into the growth, production and biochemical processes of ungrafted and grafted cherry trees was performed. The planting plan was 5×2.5 m, the age of the trees — 17-19 years. Three varieties of cherries (Rusinka, Volochaevka, Apukhtinskaya), grafted on clonal rootstock (AVCH-2, Moskoviya Izmailovskiy) and own-root, propagation-grown by herbaceous cuttings, were selected as the study objects. Biochemical studies involved determining the total antioxidant status of the alcoholic extract, the chlorophylls (a and b) and carotenoids content, the total of phenolic compounds, rutin and quercetin in the leaves. The study aimed to assess the agrobiological and biochemical parameters of grafted and own-root cherry varieties and to identify the optimal growing technique for promising ones. It was found that the variety, rootstock and breeding method influenced the growth and development of cherry trees. The linear and radial growth improved for the trees grafted on the AVC-2 and Moskoviya rootstocks and the height and crown volume thinned for the own-root trees and in those grafted on the Izmailovskiy rootstock. Depending on the variety, stock and growing technique of seedlings, the productivity of trees ranged from 3.5 (Rusinka, own-root) to 11.6 kg/tree (Apukhtinskaya, own-root). The advantage of own-root trees compared to grafted ones was revealed for Apukhtinskaya and Volochaevka varieties. The Rusinka variety showed the highest productivity when grafted on the Izmailovsky rootstock (5.5 kg/tree). To increase the yield per garden when cultivating the Apukhtinskaya and Volochaevka varieties, it is beneficial to use own-root seedlings grafted on the Moskoviya and Izmailovskiy rootstocks. For the Rusinka variety, the optimal result can be achieved when growing seedlings grafted on the Izmailovsky rootstock. The biochemical studies allowed the influence of rootstock on the photosynthetic, antioxidant systems and the synthesis of phenol compounds in the cherry leaves to be determined. It was shown that the antioxidant activity and the accumulation of phenol compounds in the leaves were the highest for the own-root plants of the most winter-hardy Rusinka variety and the Rusinka/Izmailovskiy graftedrootstock combination. The chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were the highest in the leaves of the Apukhtinskaya variety own-root trees, Apukhtinskaya/Izmailovskiy and Rusinka/Izmailovskiy grafted-rootstock combinations with increased productivity. Notably, the biochemical values decreased for all varieties grafted on the AVC-2 rootstock.