ISHS Acta Horticulturae 795: V International Cherry Symposium
A NINE-YEAR STUDY ON THE PERFORMANCE OF TWELVE CHERRY ROOTSTOCKS UNDER NON-IRRIGATED CONDITIONS IN APULIA (SOUTHERN ITALY) |
| Authors: | A. Godini, M. Palasciano, S. Camposeo, A. Pacifico |
| Keywords: | Prunus avium, dwarfing, environmental adaptability |
| Abstract:
Abstract The spread of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) orchards in Apulia (southern Italy) mainly depends on the limited height of mature trees. Tree growth is controlled naturally as a consequence of several interrelated factors: poor and shallow soils, non-irrigated (rainfed) conditions, and the use of P. mahaleb Mill. ‘St. Lucie’ as the sole rootstock. The possibility of a further reduction of tree height by the use of rootstocks more dwarfing than P. mahaleb is intriguing; thus, a trial was conducted from 1996 throughout 2004 to determine the potential for such rootstocks. Self-compatible ‘Lapins’ was grafted onto the following 12 rootstocks: ‘Mazzard’, ‘Mazzard F 12/1’, ‘CAB 6P’, ‘CAB 11E’, ‘Weiroot® 158’, ‘Damil®’ (GM 61/1), ‘SL 64’, ‘Avima®-Argot’, ‘Delbard® MaxMa 14’, ‘Delbard® MaxMa 97’, ‘Colt’ and ‘Gisela® 5’. After nine years, only 15% of the trees on ‘Gisela® 5’ were alive, while the survival of trees on ‘Avima®-Argot’, ‘CAB 11E’ and ‘MaxMa Delbard® 14’ was more than 90%. The largest trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA) was recorded for ‘Avima®-Argot’, ‘Colt’ and ‘SL 64’; the smallest TCSAs were on ‘Damil®’ and ‘Weiroot® 158’. Significant suckering occurred with ‘CAB 6P’ and ‘CAB 11E’. In 2004, the maximum tree height did not exceed 4.5 m on ‘MaxMa 14’; only ‘Weiroot® 158’ produced trees smaller than 2.6 m. The earliest bearing rootstock was ‘Weiroot® 158’ (3rd leaf) and the latest was ‘Mazzard F 12/1’ (6th leaf). Cumulative 1998–2004 yields ranged from a minimum of 2.5 kg/tree (‘Damil®’) to a maximum of 45.5 kg/tree (‘SL 64’). In terms of yield efficiency, the best results were on ‘Weiroot® 158’, ‘SL 64’ and ‘Avima®-Argot’; the worst results were on ‘Colt’, ‘MaxMa Delbard® 97’, ‘Mazzard’, ‘Mazzard F 12/1’ and ‘Damil®’, in decreasing order. The overall results confirmed the satisfactory performance of ‘SL 64’ and the promising performance by dwarfing ‘Weiroot® 158’ and semi-dwarfing ‘MaxMa 14’. ‘Damil®’ and ‘Gisela® 5’ were totally unsuited to the local environment/growing conditions. | |
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