Evaluation of Nursery Traits in Japanese Plums on Five Different Rootstocks

Abstract

Climate change has a negative effect on the environment in which traditional fruit species are grown and, at the same time, offers the potential for cultivation of new species. Japanese plums derived from P. salicina Lindley are a fruit species that is slowly being introduced to the Czech Republic. Therefore, there are efforts to find ways to grow these varieties. In our experiment, selected nursery traits that are important for the production of Japanese plum saplings in the region of the Czech Republic were evaluated. The main evaluation criteria were scion affinity, sapling yield, and selected growth characteristics. The results show that the best affinity was achieved with the Adesoto (92.0%) and the Torinel (90.0%) rootstocks. Moderate levels of affinity were found for Brompton (84.2%) and St. Julien A (80.0%) rootstocks. Weak affinity was found only for the rootstock Wavit (52.7%). The economically significant trait is the yield of saplings; here, the highest yields were obtained with the Adesoto rootstock (88.4%) and the Japanese plum variety ‘Black Star’ (89.3%). Generally, the Adesoto and Torinel rootstocks proved to be the most suitable for use with Japanese plum varieties.