Long term cropping and selected parameters of 15 apple tree cultivars

Abstract

Fifteen apple cultivars registered in the Czech Republic were included in this comparative study. The most productive after eight years of cropping was ‘Rucla’, which had a mean yield of 50.9 t/ha. This cultivar was also the most tolerant to late spring frosts. In order of decreasing yields, it was followed by the cultivars ‘Rubinstep’, ‘King Jonagold’ and ‘Šampion’. The lowest yield was found for the cultivar ‘Fuji Nagafu’ (23.7 t/ha) followed by ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Rubinola’. The largest canopy volume in 2016 was achieved by ‘Rubín’ at a level of 2.74 m³, followed in decreasing order by ‘Rubinola’, ‘King Jonagold’ and ‘Meteor’. According to the final tree canopy volume, the least vigorous was ‘Selena’ with a mean of 1.50 m³. The largest canopy of 2.74 m³ was exhibited by ‘Rubín’. The ‘Braeburn’ cultivar exhibited the highest degree of spur bearing, followed by ‘Lady Silvia’ and ‘Vysočina’. In contrast, the poorest spur patterns were observed in ‘Rubín’ and ‘Fuji Nagafu’. ‘Meteor’ was characterised by the densest canopy, whereas the ‘Rubín’ cultivar was the least dense.