Characteristics of fruiting shoots of some peach and nectarine cultivars

Abstract

Morphological characteristics of fruiting shoots: length, diameter, internode length, length of the basal part without flower buds, number of flower buds (per shoot, node and 1 m of shoot length) were studied in 12 peach and 12 nectarine cultivars. The study was conducted at the Experimental farm “Radmilovac” of the Faculty of Agriculture in Belgrade during the two–year period (2016-2017). Control cultivar for peaches was ‘Redhaven’, and for nectarines ‘Stark Redgold’. For all studied traits statistically significant differences between cultivars were found. The average length of shoots varied from 62.4 to 76.8 cm, diameter from 5.9 to 8.0 mm, and internode length from 2.45 to 3.00 cm. The length of basal part of a shoot without flower buds was on average lower in nectarines (3.9 cm) than in peaches (9.1 cm). Peach cultivar ‘Tardibelle’ is characterized by the longest basal part of a shoot without flower buds (22.2 cm). All studied peach cultivars are characterized by lower flower bud density compared to control (‘Redhaven’). In nectarines, most of the studied cultivars had flower bud density similar to control (‘Stark Redgold’). Cultivars with higher flower bud density such as peaches: ‘Redhaven’, ‘Maria Marta’, ‘Autumn Glo’, and nectarines ‘Rita Star’, ‘Maria Carla’, ‘Orion’ require severe pruning in order to obtain better fruit size. On the other hand, cultivars with lower flower bud density e.g. ‘Tardibelle’, ‘Flavorcrest’, ‘Royal Glory’, ‘Bolero’, ‘Maria Lucia’ should be pruned slightly in order to obtain higher yield.