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Phyl-Gold: a product to diminish russeting of 'Golden Delicious' apples
131-133.Views:361Producing high quality apples in mature trees of the cv. 'Golden Delicious' is rather difficult because of the russeting of it's fruits, especially in seasons of high relative humidity and/or wetness.
Earlier experiments proved the possibility to decrease russeting by treatments of GA4.7 during a period after petal fall.
Phyl-Gold, a product of Phylaxia Co. (ai. 10 g1-1 GA4.7) was applied to inhibit russet formation in fruit skin of 'Golden Delicious' apples. Four consecutive sprays were carried out (with 10 ppm a.i.) in weekly intervals, starting at petal fall and tank-mixed with the current pesticides of the plant protection program.
Due to the GA4.7 application the russet formation decreased at a rate of economical importance. As for the side-effects of treatments, fruit set was reduced slightly in trees treated, however, there was no consequent influence on return bloom.
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The size of the canopy of sour cherry trees depends on the time of pruning
49-52.Views:481The intensive culture of sour cherry is achieved by training of trees to form smaller canopies not by means of dwarfing rootstocks but by growth moderation techniques. The rootstocks traditionally used cause vigorous growth, and it is up to the technology to apply procedures less utilised earlier for that purpose. One of those techniques is the transfer of hibernal pruning to the estival period. The best term of the latter is the period of 1-3 weeks after fruit harvest.
The prolongation of the period of favourable illumination and the reduction of the canopy size facilitate higher densities of planting (number of trees per hectare) and a better exploitation of the crown (specific yield). The regular use of summer pruning resulted also in a better quality of fruit.
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Rheological evaluation of industrial tomato in raw and processed condition
60-64.Views:553Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is the second most important vegetable with one of the biggest producing areas worldwide, and an increasing tendency in Hungary as well. To fulfil the growing demands of the industry the producers must use the most suitable genotypes for the given conditions. In the experiment six genotypes (‘Heinz 1015 F1‘,‘Heinz 9478 F1‘,‘Kecskeméti 407‘,‘NUN254 F1‘,‘Prestomech F1‘ and ‘Rustico F1‘) were evaluated for different quality parameters: fruit shape index (length/diameter), firmness (g cm-2), force needed to tear the skin (kg-1) and consistency of tomato puree (g*sec). According to the results, the ‘Heinz 1015 F1‘ and ‘Heinz 9478 F1‘ were the most suitable genotypes for industrial processing in the mean of fruit quality. Strong positive correlation between consistency of juice and fruit shape index (r=0.891) and firmness of berry (r=0.882) was confirmed. The results have proved the necessity of these quality parameter measurements, which are important for the evaluation of raw material.
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The brown rot fungi of fruit crops (Monilinia spp.): I. Important features of their biology (Review paper)
23-36.Views:708The brown rot fungi of fruit crops (Monilinia spp.): Important features of their biology (Review paper)
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Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) visitation at the flowers of quince cultivars (Cydonia oblonga Mill.)
95-102.Views:1112Studies were made on the bee visitation of 6 quince cultivars and on the foraging behaviour of honeybees at quince flowers for 3 consecutive years. The bee visitation was highly intense because both the plantation and its surrounding was overpopulated by honeybee colonies. Some 5.5 bee visits were counted in average at 50 opening quince flowers in 10 minutes and some 9.7 flowers were visited of the 50 ones observed meanwhile. This equals some 7 bee visits per flower per day per in good weather. Bee visitation, however, was variable and it was greatly different in the three consecutive years with fairly favourable weather. Some cultivars tended to be more and others less visited by honeybees than the others but these differences were not consequent at each occasion. No consequent relationship between the weather and the bee visitation of quince trees could be recognised. It was concluded that .other factors were responsible for the variable nature of the bee activity at quince. Most honeybees tended to collect pollen (51.6% in average for the 3 years) and usually much less gathered for nectar only (19.9%), and the rest of them were mixed behaviour foragers gathering for both (28.5%). There were some slight differences in the foraging behaviour of honeybees at some cultivars but these differences were not always consequent in consecutive years. Also the nectar production of flowers failed to affect the bee visitation and the foraging behaviour of honeybees definitely. For the variable nature of bee visitation and bee behaviour at quince flowers, supplementary pollination is needed to achieve as high set of fruits as high is required to a good crop at quince (at least 20-25% because the flower density is low of this fruit tree species). Since the intensity of bee visitation at the flowers is the only reliable estimate of the necessity of supplementary bee pollination further research is needed to explore the relationship between the number of honeybee visits and the consequent fruit set at quince.
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Nutritional quality, fruit shape and relationships among exotic and local Capsicum pepper genotypes in Uganda
33-39.Views:591Twenty-one hot pepper genotypes comprising of local (15) and exotic (6) types (C. annuum, C. frutescens and C. chinense) were characterized for selected fruit traits after propagation in a glasshouse at the Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute Kabanyolo in Central Uganda using a completely randomized design with three replicates. Ripe fruits were harvested and analyzed; traits evaluated were all significantly different at P<0.05 with variations in quality attributes. The genotype OHA-B305-10 had the highest ascorbic acid content (128.86 mg/100 g) and is recommended for improvement of both local and exotic genotypes targeting the fresh market. Genotypes CAP0408-12 and UG2 WE0511-22, with highest total soluble solids (16.17 ºBrix) and dry matter content (28.59%), respectively should be used in improvements for industrial use or processing to products such as chilli powder or flakes. BRS-M205-04 with highest titratable acidity (1.04%) can be used in enhancing shelf life of genotypes with low titratable acids as well as for the fresh market. In spite of the intraspecific relationships among genotypes, significant differences were observed in their quantitative traits. These genotypes will, therefore, be useful in improving the quality of hot pepper fruit in Uganda.
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Rhizogenesis in in vitro shoot cultures of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa Deg.) is affected by ethylene precursor and by inhibitors
47-54.Views:334The effects of the ethylene precursor ACC and two inhibitors, AgNO3 and AVG, on root formation were tested in in vitro shoots of passion fruit (Passiflora Midis f.flavicalpa Deg.). The organogenic response was assessed on the basis of percentage of shoot-forming. roots, root number and length. The time course of ethylene production was also monitored. ACC inhibited root formation by delaying root emergence and increasine, callus formation at the basis of the shoots. In addition, ACC caused a marked increase in ethylene production, coupled to leaf chlorosis and senescence with lower rooting frequencies, number and length of roots. IAA supplementation increased ethylene production. Both ethylene inhibitors, AgNO3 and AVG, at appropriate concentrations reduced callus formation at the basis of shoots. AVG increased the number of roots per shoot, but drastically reduced length of differentiated roots. Regarding to leaf pigments, ACC promoted a marked reduction on carotenoids and total chlorophyll, whereas AVG and AgNO3 delayed explant senescence and pigments degradation, not differing from IAA supplemented and non-supplemented control treatments. The results confirm previous reports on the beneficial effects of ethylene inhibitors on in vitro rooting and suggest its reliability to be used as an alternative approach to evaluate sensitivity of Passiflora species to ethylene.
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Effect of nitrogen dressings to Jonathan apple trees in a long-term experiment
128-130.Views:351During the last three decades, diverse effects of nitrogen application on the performance of apple trees were studied in field and pot experiments at the Experimental Station of University of Horticulture and Food Industry. The basic experiment, using different rates of nitrogen in kg/ha (check, N-50; N-100; N-200; N-400; and N-800), was carried out for a period of 13 years, thus including almost the whole bearing period of Jonathan apple trees on M.9 rootstocks.
The need of nitrogen in apple orchards on M.9 rootstock and soils with moderate humus content can be decreased considerably. Nitrogen application significantly increased leaf nitrogen and magnesium, but depressed leaf phosphorus and potassium content. With increasing doses of nitrogen fruit nitrogen content significantly increased and parallelly phosphorus and potassium content decreased. Even the lowest rate of nitrogen application decreased the red colouration of fruits. A direct negative correlation between nitrogen fertilzation and fruit firmness was not proved. No close and significant correlation between fruit quality parameters and the nitrogen content in leaves, sampled at different dates, was revealed.
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Phytobiome management in horticultural systems: beyond the rhizosphere toward whole-plant microbiome optimization
85-101.Views:230The plant microbiome is not confined to the soil. Across every anatomical compartment, the rhizosphere, phyllosphere, endosphere, anthosphere, spermosphere, and carposphere, structurally distinct and functionally specialized microbial communities orchestrate processes fundamental to plant health, productivity, and resilience. Yet horticultural science has remained disproportionately anchored to the rhizosphere, leaving the vast microbial landscape inhabiting aerial, floral, seed, and fruit tissues largely unexplored and unmanaged. This blind spot carries profound consequences at a time when global horticultural production confronts an unprecedented convergence of pressures: accelerating climate instability, stringent restrictions on synthetic agrochemicals, mounting soil degradation, and escalating consumer demand for sustainably produced, chemical-free, premium-quality produce. The biological potential embedded within the whole-plant phytobiome to address these intersecting crises remains critically underutilized. A fundamental barrier to progress is the absence of a unifying scientific framework. Existing reviews address plant-associated microbiomes in disciplinary silos, focusing narrowly on rhizosphere bacteria, individual crop species, or single microbial kingdoms, without synthesizing the full cross-compartment, cross-kingdom phytobiome in the horticultural context. No comprehensive framework has yet integrated microbial community dynamics spanning bacteria, fungi, archaea, and viruses across fruit, vegetable, and ornamental crops within a single, coherent, and practically applicable model. This review addresses that gap directly. Through critical synthesis of compartment-resolved phytobiome research across major horticultural systems, we characterize the taxonomic composition, ecological assembly drivers, and agronomic functional roles of microbial communities inhabiting each plant compartment. We demonstrate that phyllosphere microbiomes confer photoprotection and pathogen exclusion; endophytic communities directly modulate secondary metabolite profiles and systemic immunity; anthosphere microbiomes influence pollinator attraction and fruit set; spermosphere communities determine seedling establishment success through vertical microbial inheritance; and carposphere microbiomes govern post-harvest storability and food safety outcomes. We further establish how host genotype, crop developmental stage, management-induced dysbiosis, and climate-driven perturbations collectively shape phytobiome assembly and functional integrity across compartments. Building on this synthesis, proposing to introduce the Whole-Plant Phytobiome Optimization (WPPO) framework, the first integrative, three-tier conceptual model designed specifically for horticultural systems. WPPO encompasses whole-plant phytobiome profiling using multi-omics platforms, identification of functional microbial modules linked to target agronomic traits, and precision compartment-targeted intervention through synthetic microbial communities (SynComs), encapsulated biostimulants, and digitally guided delivery systems integrated with IoT sensor networks and machine learning decision-support tools. Applied across the full crop life cycle, from spermosphere conditioning at seed priming to carposphere biopreservation at post-harvest, WPPO offers a scalable, evidence-based, and technologically integrated roadmap toward substantially reduced agrochemical dependence, enhanced crop resilience, superior produce quality, and the deployment of ecologically precise next-generation biocontrol and biostimulant strategies.
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Erratic fruit set in almond under warm climates
59-64.Views:493The cause for the erratic yields of the two main almond cultivars grown in Morocco has been searched in order to recommend possible solutions for a high and stable production. The lack of sufficient bloom overlap between ‘Marcona’ and ‘Fournat de Brézenaud’ in many years may be one of the reasons of this erratic behavior, but not the only one, as the same behaviour may be observed in two simultaneously blooming cultivars, ‘Ferragnès’ and ‘Ferraduel’. The relatively high temperatures observed during the blooming period
significantly reduced the stigma receptivity of these cultivars and, as a consequence, their effective pollination period, showing that stigmatic receptivity is a limiting factor for fruit set in ‘Marcona’ and ‘Ferragnès’ and their subsequent yield reduction under warm conditions. Thus, in the present context of global warming, the search for cultivars tolerant to heat stress during flowering will acquire a special interest, as well as the combination of cultivars with the same chilling and heat requirements to ensure a simultaneous bloom. -
Evaluation of foreign apricot cultivars in Hungary
51-55.Views:391The extension and renewal of cultivar assortment is one of the key elements in the improvement of apricot production. Competitiveness can only be achieved by planting cultivars which meet all market requirements and yield reliably under the environmental conditions of the given production site. Beside breeding programmes, the range of cultivars can also be extended by the domestication of foreign cultivars. Most apricot cultivars have low ecological tolerance, therefore, cultivars improved or developed in other countries should only be involved in production after due consideration. The suitability of such cultivars has to be examined for several years. Foreign apricot cultivars have been tested in our cultivar collection for over 10 years. Hereby, the most important aspects of market value and the adaptability to the environmental conditions of the production site are demonstrated. According to the results of our examinations the production of early ripening 'Orange Red' and `Goldrich' can be promising in Hungary. From cultivars ripening in the peak season only those are expected to be widely produced which differ from Hungarian cultivars or surplus them in some respects. From the cultivars examined 'Harogem' which ripens at the same time as `Gönci magyar kajszi' has remarkably aesthetic fruits with glossy surface, while the large fruits of `Hargrand' has firm pulp. Late ripening cultivars have significant importance in the northern border of production. According to our examinations the cultivars 'Callatis', `Comandor and `Sirena' are applicable in Hungary to extend the harvesting season.
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The main properties of fruit offered on the retail market in Hungary
67-69.Views:473The small enterprises of the Hungarian retail market of food and related commodities are in a dismal crisis, many of them got bankruptcy, whereas fruit and vegetables are offered in large shop-chains and supermarkets. Traditional small shops near to the domiciles are still highly esteemed by the population and their lack is regretted especially because of commodities for fresh consumption. For the purpose to evaluate the situation, I planned the comparative study of fruits offered in the retail markets by tracing their origin, quality and prices. From the six shops selected for the study three represent department stores belonging to different chains. Independent entrepreneurs manage the next three shops of vegetables with own suppliers. It was stated that the retail shops offer mainly fruits of Hungarian growers. It is however worthwhile to state that the origin of the produce was frequently not marked. The fruits imported from abroad, apple, pear, peach, were sold at substantially higher prices than those of Hungarian origin.
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The Hungarian peach production risks
85-89.Views:359Hungary possesses very good agroecological conditions even in a European comparison. Agriculture and food production is highly important despite its decreasing relative economic significance, since providing high quality and affordable food for the population is a basic social necessity and one of the decisive factors in quality of life. The development of vegetable and fruit production is of great importance both from a healthy nutrition as well as from a comparative advantage (cheap labour, expertise, production traditions, favourable climate) point of view.Vegetable and fruit consumption per capita is lower than in developed countries, which is a decisive indicator of healthy nutrition, but improvement is continuous and desired. Appropriate quality and quantity in production is a requirement to meet customers’ needs in a highly competitive market from one year to the next. Hungary can only be competitive if production results are improved while risks are reduced. Fruit production is a sector with high capital requirements, risk assessment is very important from a production, investment as well as from a national economy point of view. Our examinations will focus on production risk, which is present in the annual fluctuation of average yields, especially as a result of extreme weather factors.
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Ripening related processes in strawberry, a nonclimacteric fruit: a short overview
105-109.Views:506Fruits are essential part of the human diet: they provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants to the mankind. Physiologically they can be divided into two groups-climacteric and nonclimacteric - depending if they display any respiratory peak and dramatic increase in ethylene biosynthesis or do not. Ethylene is a gaseous hormone playing a very important role in several physiological processes in plants. While climacteric fruits, like apples, bananas, tomatoes, peaches, apricots show increased ethylene biosynthesis and dramatic respiratory peak during their ripening, nonclimacteric fruits, like strawberries, grapes, citrus do not.
The most widely used fruits for studying nonclimacteric ripening are strawberries: several papers are focusing on the identification and characterization of ripening related genes from this plant. Therefore here we attempt to summarize the most important advances in strawberry fruit development, and ripening.
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Association of varieties in stone fruit plantations
29-33.Views:1056In the majority of Hungarian orchards of stone fruits, the planting distance is 6-7 m x 4-5 m. As many of the current varieties are self-incompatible, planting designs are applied to provide for adequate pollinisers. As long as differences in blooming time are small, i.e. 3-5 days at most, overlaps of blooming of the associated varieties are sufficient for fruit set.
In sour cherry, one leading variety, Pándy, is self-incompatible and requires two polliniser varieties at least (Ciganyneggy or some sweet cherry varieties). Pándy is, moreover, cross-incompatible with the varieties Debreceni bőtermő, Kántorjánosi and Újfehértói fürtös being all of them self-fertile as most of new varieties recommended, by the way, for being planted to monovarietal blocks.
Among European plums there are varieties registered as male sterile, self-incompatible, parially self-fertile and self-fertile, respectively. For the purpose of cross pollination, the choice of two varieties, at least, to be associated to any variety belonging to the first three groups, is recommended. The number of rows in blocks planted to self incompatible or male-sterile varieties should not be higher than 2-(4). Inter-incompatibility has been observed within the currently recommended assortment, between the varieties Cacanska najbolja and Stanley, only. Chinese-Japanese plums are scarcely represented in Hungarian plantations. Variation of blooming time in varieties is somewhat more pronounced, i.e. 5-8 days. There is but a weak tendency to self-fertility, thus practically, all varieties are considered as self-incompatible, thus the planting of two-row blocks for each of three varieties, at least, are recommended to be associated.
Self-incompatibility and partially self-fertile apricot varieties are recommended to be combined with two polliniser varieties, at least, each planted to two-row blocks. The varieties Ceglédi óriás, Ligeti óriás, Nagykőrösi óriás and Szegedi Mammut are mutually inter-incompatible. Most of the peach varieties grown in Hungary are self-fertile, thus they are planted to large blocks, each. On sites threatened by late spring frost, it is recommended to plant (monovarietal) blocks of 4-6 rows at most. Cross-pollination may increase fruit set even in self-fertile varieties.
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The effect of the intensity and method of pruning on the growth and yield of the apple variety ’Idared’ under conditions of ecological and integrated growing systems
35-39.Views:2526Summary: On the Experimental Farm of the Debrecen University at Pallag, a factorial experiment has been started at springtime of 2008 on an orchard of 12 year old apple trees ’Idared’ grafts on M 26 understocks. The first factor was the growing system (integrated versus ecological), the second was the intensity of pruning (strong versus moderate thinning of the crown), whereas the third was the method of pruning (shortening versus thinning of individual shoots). Measurements have been concentrated on shoot growth, flower initiation, fruit set and accumulated yield of two successive seasons. The following conclusions are made.
– In the ecological growing system, strong thinning proved to be beneficial for growth as well as for fruit bearing. – Strong thinning combined with shortening of shoots diminished yield in the first year, whereas
moderate thinning combined with shortening of shoots caused favourable growth and fruit bearing.
– In the ecological growing system, the moderate shoot growth was associated with better flower initiation, which increases the chances of alternate yielding.
– According to our results, the flower initiation of the ‘Idared’ was stimulated univocally by the thinning of shoots regardless of the intensity of pruning.
The right choice of the intensity and method of pruning is a decisive moment of a successful yield in the ecological apple growing system -
Growth and productivity of plum cultivars on various rootstocks in intensive orchard
77-81.Views:587Trees of three plum cultivars (Stanley, Cacanska Lepotica and Althann's Gage) were planted at Szigetcsép experimental station in Spring 1994 and trained to slender spindle with the aim to test their growth, effect of productivity under not irrigated conditions and to evaluate the adaptability of rootstock/scion combinations to intensive orchards. As control, trees on Myrobalan C 162/A (P. cerasifera) seedling are planted. In the trial two rootstocks are from Slovakia: Myrobalan MY-KL-A (red leaf) and Myrobalan MY-BO-1, vegetatively propageted. Further on two French rootstocks, the Marianna GF 8-1: Marianna plum (P. cerasifera x P munsoniana) and the Sainte Julien GF 655/2 (P. insititia) were involved. The Hungarian bred plum Fehér besztercei (P. domestica), which is recommended as apricot rootstock is also tested. Rootstocks MY-BO-1 and Fehér besztercei were planted with cultivar Stanley only. Trees were planted to a spacing of 5x3 m trained to slender spindle with 3-4 permanent basal branches. After yield start (1997) trees have been pruned only in summer, after harvest. In the alleyway the natural plant vegetation is mown, the orchard is not irrigated.
Based on tree size, vigorous rootstocks are Marianna GF 8-1 and Myrobalan C 162/A seedling, medium vigorous are MY-BO-I and MYKL-A; vegetative propageted myrobalan plums from Slovakia, while St. Julien GF 655/2 and Feller Besztercei proved to be growth reducing rootstocks. No significant difference between the rootstocks was found in turning to bearing. Under non-irrigated condition at Szigetcsép, cultivar Stanley produced the highest yield per area unit on vigorous rootstock (GF 8-1). The cultivar Althann's Gage produced the highest yield efficiency on Marianna GF 8-1 and they were healthy in the last 10 years. The symptoms of Althann's Gage trees on MY-KL-A rootstock indicate a possible incompatibility. The average fruit weight was significantly influenced by crop load on cultivar Cacanska lepotica, while no statistically proved differences were found on Stanley and Althann's Gage. The Cacanska lepotica trees produced significantly lower yield and larger fruit weight on St. Julien GF 655/2 rootstock. Adaptability to spindle training system depends on vigour of scion/rootstock combination: low or medium vigour cultivars (C. lepotica, Stanley) are good choice for spindle training systems even on vigorous rootstock; while the St. Julien GF 655/2 can be recommended only for vigorous Althann's Gage under our soil and climate conditions.
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Study of genetic resources for Powdery mildew resistance by biochemical and physiological parameters on peaches and nectarines in Romania
57-61.Views:281During 1997-2002, studies on the physiological and biochemical changes due to powdery mildew attack in peach and nectarine cultivars and hybrids belonging to different classes of resistance had been performed at the Research Station for Fruit Tree Growing (RSFTG) Baneasa Bucharest, located in the southern part of Romania. The study was based on disease assessments in the field and on other diagnosis criteria.
The southern part of Romania has favourable ecological conditions for growing peach and nectarine but trees have been attacked by various pathogens such as Sphaerotheca pannosa (Wallr.: Fr.) Lev. var. persicae Woronichin fungus for a long time. The presence of the pathogen causes important changes in the quantity and quality of fruits and affects the metabolism of trees.
This study was focused on several physiological and biochemical parameters such as photosynthesis and respiration intensity along with catalase activity; and changes in some biochemical compounds such as free, total and linked water content, dry matter, nitrogen and protein content, tannin levels. The aim was to find possible correlation among the above parameters and the biotic stress induced by the powdery mildew fungus calculated as attack degree (AD%).
Results showed that photosynthesis diminished significantly in the case of the attacked phenotypes, the respiration was more intense in the infected cultivars and catalase proved to be less intense in the affected plants. The total water content significantly increased in contrast to the dry matter and tannin contents, which greatly reduced in the case of resistant cultivars such as 'Victoria', Vectared 7', 'KB 11-40'. The total nitrogen and protein levels showed less influence on resistance to powdery mildew on all cultivars. All genetic material found resistant to powdery mildew is currently used in peach and nectarine breeding programs in Romania.
Further studies focused on isolation and characterization of resistance genes for powdery mildew resistance will be done in the future based on data collected during several years.
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Scab resistance in Malus sp. progenies - inheritance and resistance stability
9-15.Views:301Susceptibility of progenies of some Ma/us species to apple scab was evaluated. Susceptibility of hybrid families was observed first in greenhouse after artificial inoculations by the suspension of the pathogen, Venturia inaequalis (Cooke) Wint., then in open field. The Hungarian type of Malus floribunda, which proved to be scab resistant in our examinations, has a positive effect on the segregation of progenies to resistant and susceptible individuals as a male parent, not depending on the rate of susceptibility of the other parent. However, the German type of Malus floribunda and Malus prunifolia act as dominant, highly susceptible parents.
Malus x purpurea and Malus baccata, which proved to be highly susceptible to apple scab in open field and in artificial inoculations, transmits its susceptibility only slightly to its progenies as a male parent.
According to our experiments, the inheritance of scab resistance of Malus floribunda cannot be considered as monogenic, as published by other authors.
Scab susceptibility of parents influences the segregation of progenies to resistant or susceptible individuals. The moderately scab susceptible `Idared' as female parent has a statistically proved positive effect on the segregation of its progenies.
More factors indicate the appearance of a new race of Venturia inaequalis (Cke.) Wint.: change of the symptoms in the greenhouse; considerable increase of susceptible individuals after greenhouse inoculation in 1997; more and more progenies of the male parent Malus floribunda became susceptible to scab in open field.
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Fruit set and yield of pear cultivars as affected by reduced bee pollination period
11-16.Views:543Results of our experiments prove that pear is more or less sensitive to the reduced bee pollination period. However, the reaction (or the sensitivity) of cultivars may be different to the reduced bee pollination. Most cultivars produce much less yield under reduced bee pollination or no yield with the exclusion of bees but in the case of some cultivars total exclusion of bees does not prevent the yield formation and what is more sometimes reduced bee pollination can be resulted in somewhat higher yield than open pollination. Typical reaction, however, is a significant yield reduction with reduced bee pollination. Pear seems to be somewhat less sensitive to the partial reduction of bee pollination period than apple or quince. The first half of the flowering period seems to be more important in yield formation because usually higher yield was resulted when pear cultivars received open pollination in the first than in the second half of the blooming period. Based on our experimental results no definite relationship between parthenocarpic capacity of cultivars and the yield under reduced bee pollination can be established. So reduced bee pollination does not seem to contribute the parthenocarpic fruit formation in pear.
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Nectar production of quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) cultivars
87-94.Views:1763Nectar production of six quince cultivars were measured during three consecutive years. The nectar production of quince can be regarded to be small compared to other temperate zone fruit tree species since quince flowers contained 1.07 ± 0.06 mg of nectar in average. The extreme values, however, ranged between 0.1 and 7.3 mg/flower and this indicated that the nectar production was highly variable. The distribution of the nectar production was definitely skew because low values were definitely much more frequent than the highest ones. Our findings do not corroborate the earlier statements on the high sugar concentration of quince nectar. We found some 21-27% sugar in average, only. The normal distribution of the sugar concentration also indicates that the typical sugar concentration may be between 20-30%. Accordingly, the sugar concentration of quince nectar is rather low compared to other temperate zone fruit tree species (except pear). There was a significant negative correlation between the amount of nectar and its sugar concentration in quince flowers in all of the three years of the study (r= -0.51, n=37, p<0.02 in 1996, r= -0.57, n=28, p<0.1 in 1997, r= -0.35, n=9 I, p<0.001 in 1998). No definite difference was established between the nectar production of quince cultivars. Nevertheless, one cultivar tended to produce less and two other ones produced somewhat more nectar in average than the rest of the 6 cvs investigated but the extreme values of nectar production of cultivars overlapped in most cages.
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Toxicity of fungicides to honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and their effects on bee foraging behavior, pollen viability and fruit set on blooming apples and pears
96-98.Views:351Fungicides fosetyl-AL, triadimefon, dodine, mycobutanil and fenarimol were tested for honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) mortality and effect on bee foraging, pollen viability and fruit set in blooming apple and pear. None of the materials were toxic to honey bees or reduced pollen gemination or fruit set.
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Comparative analysis of peach and nectarine cultivars based on their ecological and biological indicators
7-26.Views:743Natural conditions other than the ecological conditions of the Chinese gene center (as 34-38° latitude and 600 to 2400 m above sea level), mainly dry subtropical, i.e. Mediterranean effects, facilitated the development of new forms and varieties (Scorza & Okie, 1991; Faust & Timon, 1995). Probably the primary cause of nectarines, this could also be the primary cause of mutations (probably about 2000 years ago) (Roach, 1985; Surányi, 1985). During the long domestication of peaches, its natural occurrence increased, which was greatly enhanced by its ecological and mutational ability and the organoleptical values of its fruit (Hedrick, 1917; Roach, 1985; Scorza & Okie, 1991; Faust et al., 2011). Through the Ellenberg-Borhidi model and its refinement, the author has demonstrated the suitability of peaches in a broad climate zone based on the relative ecological and biological values of 700 varieties. Among the varieties, clone cultivars and hybrids were Hungarian selected and crossed form, because the diverse environmental conditions of the Carpathian Basin and the past and present size of cultivation were representative (Faust & Timon, 1995; Timon, 2000). It can be concluded from the present relative ecological data that the average standard deviation is below 12% for both peach and nectarine varieties, but the relative biological values were very different. Comparison of cultivars or classical (downy) peaches (n = 562) and nectarines (n = 138) in terms of environmental values confirmed the difference in heat demand and salt tolerance of the two groups of varieties. The pictures of the paper also demonstrated the rich diversity of this fruit species, and after analyzing the apricot and plum varieties (Surányi 2014, 2018), the peculiarities of the relative ecological and biological values of peaches were confirmed.
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A critical evaluation of methods used for S-genotyping: from trees to DNA level
19-29.Views:485Fruit setting behaviour of fruit trees remains to be in the focus of plant breeders and growers. Realizing that most species (cherry, apple, pear etc.) are self-incompatible and certain cultivars are cross-incompatible, mutual fertility properties and their reliable determination are of great interest. This review gives a comprehensive description of all known S-genotyping procedures, i.e. the classical fruit set analysis after open field test crosses; pollen tube growth monitoring with fluorescent microscopy; stylar ribonuclease electrophoresis (using different types of isoelectric focusing and 2-dimension polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis); as well as the most recent polymerase chain reaction based DNA-level analyses and DNA sequencing. The review presented not only gives a compilation of the bases of the methods described but also provides a critical evaluation and a comparative characterization of their applicability.
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Challenges of the vegetable and fruit market
83-89.Views:552The situation of the horticulture sectors have been in the limelight of the professional and economic decision makers all over Europe. This article analyses the situation of the sector from economic point of view and reveals the main reasons of its low income and high risk. It concludes that one of the biggest problems is the trading uncertainty in the vegetable and fruit sector that is caused by the asymmetric market structure of the post-regime era. Since sizes of vegetable and fruit plantations do not allow producers to supply individually the extremely concentrated food retail trade or the processing trade they must find alternative ways for trading their products. The study introduces two alternative solutions. One alternative is foundation of modern multi-level producer co-operatives with the help of EU subsidies. Secondary and tertiary co-operatives may achieve better market position and lower trading price risk with managing production, professional marketing, and improving the information flow. The other alternative is searching for new trading channels such as local provision, restructuring of local markets, and direct trade (home delivery and pick-it-yourself programmes). The shorter producer-consumer distance means better quality at lower price for customers and income in the case of smaller amount of products for producers. It is concluded that both solutions together or separately may help individual producers in their trading problems. However, whichever way they choose, producers must co-operate.
