Apple cultivars bred in Holovousy. Part 1 – Characteristics of the orchard

Abstract

 Twenty-one standard apple cultivars bred in Holovousy and registered in the Czech Republic during 1994–2011 were included in a comparative study. Their tree parameters and yields were evaluated from 2004 till 2011 in a comparison to cvs Golden Delicious and Jonagold within experimental orchards planted on M 9 rootstock using a tree spacing of 4 × 1 m. The cultivars mutually differed in the mean term of flowering starting up to 6 days. The harvest time of 5 summer cultivars covered the harvest season from July 14 till the end of August. The remaining cultivars were storable, and on average, their harvest started between the September 8(Nabella) and November 8 (Rubimeg). Cvs Resista, Selena and Vysočina were evaluated as totally resistant to scab and 5 other cultivars were distinguished by very low susceptibility to the disease. In the case of powdery mildew this desirable level of tolerance was observed on 7 cultivars. The most vigorous according to trunk cross-sectional area was cv. Mivine, whereas the weakest growing cv. Selena was 52% smaller in this parameter. Significant differences among cultivars were also found in the case of yield precocity. In total, the most productive in this study was cv. Clijo, with mean annual harvest equal to 44.3 t/ha. The lowest level of annual harvest (25.6 t/ha) gave cv. Selena, but its crop efficiency was one of the highest.