Physiological Characteristics of Different Cultivars of Apricot

Abstract

For the Republic of Moldova is particularly important selection of apricot cultivars with high adaptability to varying local conditions. Comprehensive experimental studies are needed to evaluate promising cultivars introduced from the international assortment. This report presents the results of studying during 2015–2016 the features of growth and photosynthetic ability of perspective for Moldova apricot cultivars: the four-year-old fruiting apricot plants late Sirena cultivar, two-year-old plants of the Salah cultivar with early-middle ripening period and Vasile Cochu early cultivar were studied. Plants were grown in the IGPP ASM lyzimeters. The dynamics of growth processes (specific leaf mass, leaf area), the rate of photosynthesis and transpiration using LCI device, net photosynthetic productivity, pigment fund by spectrophotometric method were studied. The obtained data show the strategy of the deployment of the leaf surface in the test cultivars: the fruiting plants of the Sirena cultivar were distinguished by the enhanced accumulation of the biomass of the leaves during the periods after flowering, growth and especially ripening of the fruit. The weight of such leaves exceeds the average values for young plants of Salah and Vasile Cochu cultivars by 17.65 and 22.10%, respectively. This corresponds to the same differences between cultivars in the specific mass leaves. The net productivity of photosynthesis, which characterizes the potential productivity of the studied cultivars, constitutes on average for unfruitful plants of Salah and Vasile Cochu cultivars respectively 59 and 51% of the values of the Sirena cultivar fruiting. The carried out researches have revealed features of growth processes, intensity of photosynthesis, transpiration and net productivity of photosynthesis different perspective cultivars of apricot. This testifies to the existence of a number of closely interconnected processes that serve as a mechanism for realizing the action of the genetic plan for the manifestation of different maturation periods for fruits and plant productivity.