Influence of clonal rootstocks on the production process of plum variety Stanley in arid conditions of the Astrakhan region

Abstract

Relevance. The article presents the results of a three-year study of the economic and biological characteristics of the Stanley plum variety (growth and development of plants, the time of fruiting, productivity, yield, marketable qualities of fruits) when grown on medium-sized clonal rootstocks Evrika-99 and Druzhba, bred at the Crimean experimental breeding station named after N.I. Vavilov, in the acutely arid conditions of the Astrakhan region.Methods.The purpose of the research was to study the influence of medium-sized clonal rootstocks on the production process of the Stanley plum variety in the natural and climatic conditions of the Astrakhan region and to substantiate the possibility of their use for laying intensive plum plantations in the arid conditions of the Northern Caspian Sea.Results. In the course of the research, the influence of the rootstock genotype on the main indicators of productivity was revealed: precocity, yield, commercial qualities of fruits. The early fruiting of the variety was most influenced by the medium-sized rootstock Evrika-99, on which already in the first year of growth in the garden 60-80% of plum trees were noted to bloom. Among the studied rootstocks, the highest rates of yield increase in the Stanley variety were noted on the medium-sized rootstock Evrika-99, in combination with which the variety was characterized by the maximum values of the average yield of 7.6 t/ha, with the values of this indicator on the rootstock Druzhba — 6.7 t/ha , which is 11.8% higher. According to the marketability of the fruit, the rootstock Druzhba was noted, the average weight of which was 48.2 g, which is 18.1% more than on the stock Eureka-99 (40.8 g). In the extremely dry conditions of the Astrakhan region, the Stanley variety is recommended to be grown in an intensive garden on the rootstocks Evrika-99 and Druzhba, which ensure regular and stable yields.