Phenological characteristics, yield and fruit quality of introduced apricot cultivars in the region of Belgrade (Serbia)

Abstract

The evaluation of ten introduced apricot cultivars originated from Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary was carried out in the region of Belgrade over a period of six years (2009–2014). Control cultivar for comparison was ‘Hungarian Best’. Flowering of introduced cultivars was from two days before to two days after the control, while harvest was from 6 days before (‘Neptun’) to 13 days after (‘Litoral’). The average yield per tree ranged from 5.7 kg in ‘Kasna Drjanovska’ to 12.2 kg in ‘Mari de Cenad’ and ‘Roksana’, while the average fruit weight ranged from 45.1 g in ‘Umberto’ to 82.0 g in ‘Neptun’. Compared with the control cultivar, significantly higher yield was achieved in seven cultivars, while significantly higher fruit weight was found in six cultivars. The content of soluble solids varied from 14.2% in ‘Cegledi arany’ to 19.5% in ‘Kasna Drjanovska’. Cultivars ‘Roksana’, ‘Mari de Cenad’, ‘Gergana’ and ‘Neptun’ stand out for fruit appearance, and ‘Silistrenska kompotna’, ‘Kasna Dryanovska’ and ‘Mari de Cenad’ for fruit quality. Among studied cultivars, for growing in this region ‘Dacia’, ‘Gergana’, ‘Mari de Cenad’, ‘Neptun’ and ‘Roksana’ can be recommended, predominantly for fresh fruit consumption. In addition, cultivars ‘Silistrenska kompotna’ and ‘Kasna Drjanovska’ can also be recommended, mostly for fruit processing.