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Short communication. Effective pollination period in "RedChief" and "Golden Delicious" apples (Malus domestica Borkh)

2009; Spanish National Research Council; Volume: 7; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5424/sjar/2009074-1111

2171-9292

Víctor Manuel Guerrero Prieto, Agustín Rascón–Chu, Alejandro Romo‐Chacón, David Reyes, Jesús Antonio Orozco Avítia, Alfonso A. Gardea Béjar, Rafael Parra Quezada, Esteban Sánchez,

Horticultural and Viticultural Research

Due to the significant variation in the initial fruit set of apples among seasons and producing regions of Chihuahua, Mexico, it is important to determine the cause(s). Apple fruit yield is strongly determined by the initial fruit set, which is the result of a series of physiological events, such as pollination, pollen tube growth, ovule longevity and fertilisation. During one or two seasons, in the two main apple-producing regions in the state of Chihuahua, México, the effective pollination period (EPP) was evaluated in "Golden Delicious", "RedChief Delicious" and "Golden Delicious Tardío", a regional mutant of Golden Delicious. Daily manual pollinations after the full pink stage were made with "Snow Drift" pollen to determine the EPP. The initial fruit set at 30 days after the last day of hand pollination was evaluated. A daily sampling of flowers was used to measure the pollen tube growth (average growth of 11.70 mm at 96 h) in the pistil and ovule viability in the ovary. The EPP lasted 6 days for RedChief Delicious, 4 days for Golden Delicious, and 10 days for Golden Delicious Tardío. The average ovule longevity of 63% seemed to be a limiting factor for Golden Delicious, leading to a reduced initial fruit set.