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Acta Agraria Debreceniensis

No. 1 (2026)
Articles

Evaluation of the vegetative performance of perspective apple cultivars, grafted on Geneva®, Budagovsky and Malling rootstocks

Published:
2026-06-02
DOI Linkhttps://doi.org/10.34101/actaagrar/1/16856
Authors
Hajnalka Elek,
Marianna Sipos,
Ádám Csihon
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Keywords
apple rootstocks cultivar adaptability
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Copyright (c) 2026 by the Author(s)

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How To Cite
Selected Style: APA
Elek, H., Sipos, M., & Csihon, Á. (2026). Evaluation of the vegetative performance of perspective apple cultivars, grafted on Geneva®, Budagovsky and Malling rootstocks. Acta Agraria Debreceniensis, 1, 11-18. https://doi.org/10.34101/actaagrar/1/16856
Received 2026-02-23
Accepted 2026-04-29
Published 2026-06-02
Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of nine apple rootstocks on the vegetative growth and formation of fruit-bearing structures in ‘Najdared’ and ‘Fuji San 51’ cultivars in an intensive orchard. The examined rootstocks included clones of the Geneva® series (G.11, G.16, G.41, G.214), clones of Budagovsky series (B.9, B.10), and M.9-derived clones (T337, RN29, FL56). Measured parameters were tree height, trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA), density and length of fruit bearing parts. The obtained results clearly indicated that rootstock choice significantly affected the vegetative vigor, trunk development, and the density of fruit bearing parts in both cultivars. Cultivars ‘Najdared’ and ‘Fuji San 51’ exhibited pronounced vegetative growth on G.214 and M.9 RN29 rootstocks, as reflected in both tree height increment and trunk diameter thickening. All combinations showed a dominance of generative growth according to the ratio of short and long fruiting shoots for both cultivars in 2022, except for trees grafted on G.11 rootstocks. These findings emphasize that appropriate rootstock selection is a critical factor for optimizing vegetative growth and yield potential in intensive apple production.

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