The Influence of Abiotic Factors on the Development and Productivity of Apricot Plantations in the Republic of Moldova

Abstract

The main factors that conditioned the spread of apricot culture on a larger scale are the low return temperatures at the end of the rest period and late spring, which affect the generative organs. The aim of the research was to choose apricot varieties more resistant to the low return temperatures in the northern part of the country. The object of the research was the trees of the apricot varieties Spring Blush, Pinkcot, Kyoto and Faralia, grafted on the Mirobalan 29C rootstock. Planting distance was 4.0x2.2 m. The planting of apricot trees was carried out in spring of 2018, but the research was conducted in 2020 year. Trees were trained to a Trident canopy. It was established that the biological characteristics of the variety influence the parameters of trees, the period of onset of phenophases of the generative organs, the period between flowering and maturation of apricot fruit harvest, morphological parameters, shape index, plantation productivity and the redistribution of the fruits in different quality classes. The Kyoto variety had higher resistance to the late return temperatures, which in the conditions of the northern area registered productions of 17.03 t/ha in the third year after planting.