Testing of Resistance to Diseases of Apple Tree Varieties of the World Selection in Chechen Republic Conditions

Abstract

In recent decades cultivation of fruit crops, in particular apple trees, has been carried out under adverse weather conditions for plants: the effects of annual abiotic and biotic stresses, extreme temperatures during dormancy and vegetation, epiphytotics of the main apple diseases – scab and powdery mildew. Unstable weather conditions reduce the stability and quality of the products obtained, since the protection of plants from diseases involves treatment with chemicals that affect the environmental safety of products. One of the ways to increase the perennial fruit stands resistance is to introduce into the assortment of cultivated varieties complexly resistant to temperature stresses and dominant diseases. The article justified the need to study the economic and biological characteristics of promising apple varieties suitable for use in intensive cultivation technologies of pome crops resistant to scab and powdery mildew. The work was carried out on the basis of collection plantings of apple trees of the experimental field of the Chechen Research Institute of Agriculture. Objects of research are 15 apple varieties of domestic and foreign selection. During experimentations and observations were guided by the methodology of collection cultivation of fruit, berry and nut-bearing crops, and the program of the North Caucasus Center for the selection of fruit, berry, flower and decorative crops and grapes for the period until 2030. The cultivation of varieties characterized by resistance to scab and powdery mildew, allows to reduce the number of chemical treatments and thereby reduce the pesticidal pressure on plants, the environment, and especially fruits. The results of studies on the evaluation of commercial and taste qualities also showed varietal specificity.