ROOTSTOCKS SELECTION FOR APRICOTS IN FRANCE

1. varieties showing more or less union incompatibilities (weakness at the union) on plums and peaches roots ("Canino", "Rouge du Roussillon", "Colomer", "Précoce du Portugal", "Ouardi", "Sayeb", "Amal", "Rouget de Sernhac", "Screara", "Moniqui", "Tardif de Bordaneil", etc…);
2. varieties showing good unions on these roots ("Luizet", "Bergeron", "Stark Early Orange", "Cafona", "Paviot", "Polonais", "Blenheim",, etc…).

This type of incompatibility (weakness of union) is influenced by the growth conditions of the tree. This situation gave difficulties to the Apricot rootstock breeders. For a same clonal combination (for example "Canino" budded on "Marianna GF 8–1") percentage of union breakage after ten years range from 20 p.100 in slow growing conditions till 80 p. 100 in fast growing conditions.

Selection and breeding work for Apricot rootstocks were initiated in France by INRA in 1952 with cooperation of CTIFL since 1970. It concerns apricots, plum and prunes roots and some interspecific hybrids (peach-almond, plum-peach, plum-apricot).

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