Comparative Evaluation of Pear Performances Under High- and Low-Density Planting Systems cv. ‘Santa Maria’

Productivity and Fruit Quality of ‘FalstaffPBR’ Pear Variety Grafted on Different Rootstocks

“…The choice of the above-mentioned rootstocks was made considering the characteristics of soils where 'Falstaff PBR ' would have been grown commercially. Usually, quince rootstocks are commonly used to control plant growth, yield precocity, and, in some cases, improve both fruit quality and size [18,19]; moreover, their dwarfing characteristic is very useful when working in high-density orchards, a common practice in Europe (and Italy in particular), where cold hardiness is not a concern [23,37]. The downside is that, influencing dwarfing, quince rootstocks may become too weak to sustain the growth of the scion for many seasons, thereby limiting the life span of the plant [38].…”

“…Therefore, it is not possible to efficiently select a rootstock based only on its characteristics, since many other significant factors are involved. In order to be able to enhance the agronomical features of a plant, different rootstocks have to be tested in order to evaluate the graft success and plant growth response of pear cultivars/genotypes and to select the better performing rootstock [22,23]. In our trials, we selected four different rootstocks: three quince (C. oblonga) ('Quince C' (EMC), 'Quince H' (EMH), and 'BA29'), as well as 'Farold 40' among clonal Pyrus communis L. rootstocks.…”