Does propagation method affect the field performance of peach trees?

Abstract

Worldwide, peach propagation has been performed mainly by grafting scions of desirable cultivars on rootstocks obtained from seeds. There are, however, other potential propagation methods not widely adopted due to the limited reports on the field performance of the resultant trees. This study addressed this knowledge gap and investigated the field performance of peach trees of the cultivar Maciel that were established in an orchard (5.0 m × 1.4 m spacing) in 2011. The trees were trained in a "Y" system, with seedlings from three propagation techniques: 1) Conventional System (CS) -vegetative bud grafting of the scion on the rootstock of the Okinawa cultivar obtained from seed; 2) Rootstock by Minicutting (RM) -vegetative bud grafting of the scion on the rootstock of the Okinawa cultivar obtained by minicutting in a semi-hydroponic system; 3) Self-Rooting (SR) -self-rooting of the scion in a semihydroponic system. The vegetative, productive, and fruit quality parameters were assessed during 2012 and 2013. The Maciel peach trees that were propagated by the SR technique were found to have similar or even superior field performance to those propagated by the CS. The RM propagation method was also found to be an important potential alternative to peach propagation, since this it combines two techniques (cutting and grafting) to reduce tree vigor, especially if the goal is high-density planting. Key words: Prunus persica. Cloning. Self-rooting. Minicutting. ResumoEm todo o mundo, a propagação de pessegueiro tem sido realizada principalmente por enxertia de cultivares copa em porta-enxertos obtidos a partir de sementes. No entanto, existem outros métodos de propagação potenciais que não são amplamente adotados devido à pouca informação em relação ao desempenho a campo das plantas. A fim de responder a esta pergunta, em 2011, pessegueiros da cultivar Maciel foram plantados (5,0m ×

Vegetative growth and foliar nutrient contents of peach on different clonal rootstocks

“…In the present study, 'Okinawa', widely used as rootstock in the region of Jarinu and Jundiaí, ranked within the group of cultivars with the highest height (Figure 1 A and 1 B). However, Souza et al (2017) reported significant differences in trunk diameter (33.2 and 26.9 mm), scaffold diameter (30.0 and 22.2 mm), and scaffold length (165.8 and 136.2 cm) when 'Maciel' was budded on 'Okinawa' formed by seeds or cuttings, respectively.…”

“…The obtained results are indicative that the BRS Kampai and BRS Rubimel scion cultivars may be an interesting alternative for sites with suitable biotic and abiotic soil conditions. According to Souza et al (2017), the high vegetative growth observed in own-Figure 6. Similarity matrix (Euclidian distance) between the 'BRS Kampai' (A) and 'BRS Rubimel' (B) peach (Prunus persica) scions budded on 19 rootstocks and own-rooted in the municipalities of Jarinu and Jundiaí, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, respectively.…”

“…Commercial orchards of stone fruits in Brazil are propagated by budding scion cultivars on rootstocks, which are often obtained from seeds (Mayer et al, 2014b;Souza et al, 2017). Grafting or budding is used for many purposes, as for the maintenance of the genetic origin of the scion cultivar, homogeneity, vigor control, regulation of nutrient absorption, and early production (Chatzissavvidis et al, 2008;Mayer et al, 2013Mayer et al, , 2014b.…”