The Influence of cultivar, rootstock and culture system on growth and yield in apple

Abstract

The influence of two apple rootstocks (M9 and MM106) on growth and yielding of four apple cultivars ("Pinova"‚ "Topaz", "Florina" and "Golden Reinders") in two culture system was studied. The experiment was placed in a commercial orchard at SC Agroindustriala Cluj-Napoca Romania, planted in 2007, during 2012-2104. In the experimental field some growth parameters (length of annual shoots, trunk cross-sectional area, tree height) and fructification (average yield and productivity index) were observed. The studied cultivars had a different response due to the genetic characteristic of each one and on the other hand, due to the rootstock. The results showed that MM 106 transmit much strongly growth than M9. The longest shoots, in terms of mean values, gave the variants where the cultivars were grafted on MM106 (53 cm) and the shortest (34.4 cm) on M9. The biggest average height of trees were obtained on MM 106 rootstock (290 cm). The smallest average trees height were registered by the variants where the trees were grafted on M9 (239 cm). The biggest average trunk cross sectional area were obtained with the MM106 (102.1 cm2). The best yield was obtained in variant where the cultivars were grafted on M9 (47.03 t/ha). M9 rootstock has controlled the tree size of all cultivars more than MM106 resulting in the lowest TCSA (58.8 cm 2 ) and the highest yield per hectar (47.03 tone/ha) and yield efficiency (925 kg/cm 2 ).

Effects of rootstocks on leaf nutrient concentration of selected apple (Malus domestica L. Borkh) cultivars at Gircha, Southern Ethiopia

“…Apple rootstocks regulate tree growth, precocity, water and nutrient uptake and transport (Koepke and Dhigra, 2013;Kviklys et al, 2014). The rootstock has far more effect on the ultimate size of the tree than the scion cultivar (Tromp et al, 2005;Badiu et al, 2014). In agreement with this, Roy and George (1987) revealed that, rootstocks profoundly affect water and nutrients uptake from the soil especially nitrogen which is of prime importance as it affects the photosynthetic rate, production of carbohydrates and proteins, which in turn control plant growth and development.…”