Preliminary results on the behaviour of two micropropagated and grafted apricot cultivars

The responses of ‘Flopria’ apricot to the propagation techniques of micropropagation (M) and graft (G) were compared through the assessment of some vegetative and reproductive traits. Both the M and G trees were planted (5×3 m distance) in 2011 at a private farm in southern Italy and trained to open vase. At 2 and 4 years after planting, the trunk diameter, tree height, number of floral buds, flowers, fruit-set and the presence of spiny spurs were recorded. At 2015 harvest, fruit size, °Brix and fruit firmness were determined. Trunk diameter and fruit quality traits did not differ between treatments, while the numbers of floral buds, flowers and fruit-set of M trees were on average ~65% of those of G trees. Tree height and the presence of spiny spurs on basal branches were higher in M trees. The paper discusses the overall higher presence of juvenile traits in M trees compared to G trees

Propagation and field of “BN4 Kr” – a promising sharka resistant rootstock.

Different ‘Mirobolan’ types are still largely used for Prunus sp. propagation. The rootstock resistance has great practical importance in order to limit the spread of Plum pox virus (PPV), given that root suckers represent gateways for the virus. Minoiu and Vlădianu (2001) had developed a mutant of ‘Mirobolan’, named ‘BN 4 Kr’ at the Bistriţa Fruit Research and Development Station, which has been proven resistant to PPV (Minoiu et al., 1997, 1998). Other experiments have confirmed that aphid vectors are not able to transmit PPV to ‘Mirobolan’ ‘BN 4 Kr’ plants (Polák and Kominek, 2014). In order to check the potential of large-scale propagation of ‘BN 4 Kr’, green cuttings and in vitro propagation were studied. Green cuttings propagation was assessed for three consecutive years using different rooting substrates: sand, perlite, and a 1:1 mix of sand and perlite. The results revealed an average rooting between 75.3 and 85.9%, with the highest rooting percentage on the perlite variant. In vitro propagation of ‘BN 4 Kr’ rootstock was tested at Vitroplant Italia. Best culture medium was Murashige and Skoog (1962) supplemented with 2.0 mg L-1 BA and with 0.01 mg L-1 IBA for stabilization, 1.0 mg L-1 BA and 0.01 mg L-1 IBA for multiplication, and 1.5 mg L-1 IBA for rooting. In central Italy (Valdaso, Ancona Province) Polytechnic University of Marche (Ancona, Italy) tested the ‘BN 4 Kr’ rootstocks in replanting conditions, using ‘Myrobalan 29C’ as a control. One-year-old trees of ‘BN 4 Kr’ were planted in November 2007 and grafted with ‘Fortune’ plum in February 2009. The production and fruit quality were recorded from 2011-2015. The ‘Fortune’ on ‘BN 4 Kr’ rootstock showed a production similar to ‘Myrobalan 29C’ but with lower vigour and slightly bigger fruit size. Likely ‘BN 4 Kr’ rootstock induced a lower incidence of phytoplasma symptoms (ESFY), which are a growing problem in plum production. The resistance to PPV correlated with the high potential of vegetative propagation, recommending ‘BN 4 Kr’ as a promising ‘Mirobolan’ rootstock for sharka containment. The exclusive license for propagation and commercialization of ‘BN 4 Kr’ was awarded to Vitroplant Italia, starting with 2016

Organizzazione della filiera vivaistica e certificazione delle piante.

Le tecniche di moltiplicazione, l'uso del portinnesto, la micropropagazione: molti gruppi di ricerca in Italia sono attivi nel miglioramento dei sistemi di propagazione del nocciolo. Avanzano anche i lavori per lo sviluppo del programma di certificazione genetico sanitaria, su base volontaria, del materiale vivaistico che, alla luce del mutato quadro normativo europeo, dovrebbe essere operativo entro la fine del 2017