THE INFLUENCE OF VARIETY AND SOME TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS ON FRUIT FIRMNESS AND PRODUCTIVITY ON THREE APRICOT VARIETIES CULTIVATED AT THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT STATION FOR FRUIT GROWING BĂNEASA, BUCHAREST
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52846/aamc.v54i2.1572Abstract
The nutritional value of apricots, the high production potential of apricot trees, the fact that the trees bear fruit relatively early, and the ripening of the fruit occurs during a period when there is a scarcity of other fruits, making it relatively easy to market at high prices, make apricot a species desired by farmers for their orchards. In order to study the influence of certain technological factors on fruit quality, particularly regarding resistance to handling, transport, and storage, we selected three well-known varieties on the market: Amiral, Goldrich, and Olimp grafted on to the rootstock Constanta 14, which imparts favorable characteristics. We also conducted determinations on the influence of planting distances on productivity, analyzing planting distances of 4.0 x 1.5 m and 4.0 x 2.0 m. The best results were obtained for the Amiral variety, where the statistical results were rated as significant compared to the other varieties, for both planting distance variants (4.0 x 1,5 m - 9.02 t/ha and at 4.0 x 2,0 m - 10.90 t/ha. Till the end of the growing season, treatments with calcium-based products were applied, with the final objective of observing their effect on the firmness of the fruit pulp. Among the analyzed varieties, the best firmness, important for good storage resistance, was determined for the Goldrich variety planted at 4.0 x 2.0 m- 2.67 kgf/cm² treated with Ca compared to the variant planted at 4.0 x 2.0 m but not treated with calcium with the firmness value- 1.82 kgf/cm². There are varieties that may respond differently to treatments, as Olimp variety, which had a higher yield without treatment. This shows that not all varieties respond uniformly to treatments and that there may be genetic variability in their ability to utilize available nutrients.