Biological characteristics of plum cultivars with combined traits

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to present a study into biological characteristics of plum cultivars with combined traits, grown in the Belgrade region, in order to select the best among them and recommend them for commercial growing. In the period 2003-2005, nine cultivars were studied, five of which were introduced (Victoria, Stanley, Italian Prune, Bluefree and Anna Späth) and four domestic (Čačanska Lepotica, Čačanska Rodna, Jelica and Valjevka). The traits that were studied were the following ones: maturation time, yield level, as well as physical, chemical and organoleptic characteristics of the fruit. On average, the studied cultivars matured from July 21 (Čačanska Lepotica) to August 31 (Anna Späth), whereas the yield level (expressed by points, 1-5) ranged from 1.3 (Italian Prune) to 4.5 (Čačanska Lepotica). The fruit weight fell within 27.75 g (Valjevka) to 47.58 g (Anna Späth) range with the fruit of the majority of the cultivars belonging to the medium-sized category. The fruit shape index ranged from 1.04 (Anna Späth) to 1.39 (Stanley). The average soluble content was between 14.0% (Bluefree) and 19.5% (Jelica), with total sugars ranging from 7.2% (Victoria), to 12.4% (Italian Prune). The contents of total acids varied from 0.68% (Stanley) to 1.01% (Bluefree). The best organoleptic score for fruit appearance was attained by cultivars Čačanska Lepotica and Bluefree, whreas Italian Prune and Čačanska Rodna had the highest scores for the taste. The studied parameters indicate that the overall best traits were demonstrated by the Čačanska Lepotica and Čačanska Rodna cultivars, and the conclusion is that these cultivars should be further spread in commercial orchards, as cultivars with combined traits.

U periodu 2003-2005. godina, na Oglednom dobru "Radmilovac" Poljoprivrednog fakulteta iz Beograda ispitivano je devet sorti šljive: Viktorija, Stenli Italijanka, Blufri, Ana Špet, Čačanska lepotica, Čačanska rodna, Jelica i Valjevka. Proučavane su sledeće osobine: vreme zrenja, rodnost, fizičke hemijske i organoleptičke osobine ploda. Na osnovu proučavanih parametara najbolje osobine ispoljile su sorte Čačanska lepotica i Čačanska rodna.