<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The effectiveness of apricot cultivation is greatly threatened by frost damage to flower buds during the dormancy period. One of the most important aspects of the evaluation of cultivars is therefore the determination of their frost tolerance. In this paper, the frost hardiness of flower buds of 16 apricot cultivars was investigated in three dormancy periods, applying a standardised artificial freezing test protocol and determining LT<sub>50</sub> values. The results showed that both the genotypes and the yearly climatic conditions had a significant effect on frost tolerance. A genotype generally determines the potential maximum of its frost tolerance (‘Sweet Red’ and ‘Primaya’ were very sensitive to frost every year, while ‘Harlayne’ and ‘Rózskajszi C.1406’ could be considered as frost hardy). Flower buds can reach different levels of frost resistance each year depending on the temperature conditions during the hardening and dehardening periods. From the point of view of yield security, it is essential when planning an orchard, to take into account and harmonise the frost hardiness of the cultivars selected and the growing site conditions. Therefore, it is very important to have adequate information about the frost hardiness of different apricot cultivars, which should be included in cultivar descriptions. This paper is intended to contribute to this goal.</p>
</abstract>

The effectiveness of apricot cultivation is greatly threatened by frost damage to flower buds during the dormancy period. One of the most important aspects of the evaluation of cultivars is therefore the determination of their frost tolerance. In this paper, the frost hardiness of flower buds of 16 apricot cultivars was investigated in three dormancy periods, applying a standardised artificial freezing test protocol and determining LT50 values. The results showed that both the genotypes and the yearly climatic conditions had a significant effect on frost tolerance. A genotype generally determines the potential maximum of its frost tolerance (‘Sweet Red’ and ‘Primaya’ were very sensitive to frost every year, while ‘Harlayne’ and ‘Rózskajszi C.1406’ could be considered as frost hardy). Flower buds can reach different levels of frost resistance each year depending on the temperature conditions during the hardening and dehardening periods. From the point of view of yield security, it is essential when planning an orchard, to take into account and harmonise the frost hardiness of the cultivars selected and the growing site conditions. Therefore, it is very important to have adequate information about the frost hardiness of different apricot cultivars, which should be included in cultivar descriptions. This paper is intended to contribute to this goal.

Frost hardiness of flower buds of 16 apricot cultivars during dormancy

Folia Horticulturae

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Frost hardiness of flower buds of 16 apricot cultivars during dormancy"}

The effectiveness of apricot cultivation is greatly threatened by frost damage to flower buds during the dormancy period. One of the most important aspects of...

Cultivar	2019/2020	2021/2022	2022/2023	3 years	Legend
Primaya	G1	G1	G1	G1	G1—very frost sensitive
Tsunami	G1	G1	G1	G1
Sweet Red	G1	G1	G1	G1
Aurora	G1	G2	G1	G2	G2—slightly frost sensitive
Pinkcot	G1	G2	G1	G2
Petra	G1	G2	G2	G2
Bhart	G2	G2	G2	G3	G3—slightly frost resistant
Goldrich	G2	G2	G2	G3
Bergarouge	G3	G2	G2	G3
Magyar kajszi C.235	G2	G3	G3	G3
Hargrand	G2	G3	G3	G3
Farbaly	G2	G3	G3	G3
Harogem	G3	G3	G3	G3
Kurezia	G3	G4	G4	G4	G4—very frost resistant
Rózsakajszi C.1406	G4	G4	G4	G4
Harlayne	G4	G4	G4	G4

Frost hardiness of flower buds of 16 apricot cultivars during dormancy

Article Category: ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Published Online: Apr 28, 2024

Page range: -

Received: Aug 30, 2023

Accepted: Jan 31, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fhort-2024-0005

Keywords
artificial freezing tests, dehardening, hardening, LT,

© 2024 József L. Bakos et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

Figure 7.

Classification of 16 apricot cultivars for their frost hardiness ability by hierarchical clustering with Wards method based on the measured LT50 values.

Frost hardiness of flower buds of 16 apricot cultivars during dormancy

Article Category: ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Published Online: Apr 28, 2024

Page range: -

Received: Aug 30, 2023

Accepted: Jan 31, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fhort-2024-0005

Keywordsartificial freezing tests, dehardening, hardening, LT,

© 2024 József L. Bakos et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

Figure 7.

Classification of 16 apricot cultivars for their frost hardiness ability by hierarchical clustering with Wards method based on the measured LT50 values.

Keywords
artificial freezing tests, dehardening, hardening, LT,