Prospects for the use of intensive rootstock for cultivation of pear cultivars in the conditions of Central Russia

Abstract

Relevance. Unfortunately, there are no intensive pear plantations in the central regions of Russia due to the absence of intensive dwarf rootstocks. Therefore, the research aimed at obtaining winter-hardy rootstocks that provides early industrial fruiting of gardens, limits plant growth and gives a quick return on investment, is very important and can be applied in many different ways.

Materials and methods. The research was carried out in the laboratory of selection and variety study of pears and non-traditional pome crops of the Russian Research Institute of Fruit Crop Breeding (FSBSI VNIISPK). The object of the research was the common quince selected by FSBSI VNIISPK. In 2008-2010 and 2012-2014 we studied the economic and biological characteristics of the common quince as clonal pear rootstocks when propagated by green cuttings.

Results. The research results show high winter hardiness of the common quince plants in Oryol region, as well as their high regenerative capacity in case of damage caused by adverse winter conditions. It was determined that some types of common quince can be reproduced by green cuttings and provide a high yield of uniform planting material. The common quince has a high seed productivity that allows to get seedling rootstocks of high quality. Some pear cultivars demonstrate a good compatibility with the common quince, moderate growth and high early maturity in comparison with the pear rootstock; there are also preliminary data on compatibility of 11 pear cultivars in a nursery, and 4 cultivars that are incompatible with the common quince.