Growth and yielding of several Saskatoon berry (Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt.) genotypes in central Poland

Abstract

The results of the assessment of morphological traits of plants (growth vigor and shrub habit), yielding and fruit weight of seven Saskatoon berry (Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt.) genotypes are presented in the paper. The research was conducted in 2017–2018. The cultivar trail experiment was established in 2011 in the field of the Experimental Orchard of the Research Institute of Horticulture – in Dąbrowice, near Skierniewice (central Poland). Four Canadian cultivars (‘Martin’, ‘Pembina’, ‘Smoky’ and ‘Thiessen’) and three breeding clones of the Research Institute of Horticulture (clone 5/6, type N and type S) were assessed. The results of the studies showed that the shrubs of the clone 5/6 produced the tallest plants and grew the strongest. The shrubs of the cultivar ‘Pembina’, which produced short and narrow plants, grew the weakest. The shrubs of the breeding clone 5/6 had the most erect habit. The highest fruit yields were given by shrubs of clones type S and type N, and the lowest – by ‘Pembina’. The cultivar ‘Martin’ had the largest fruit, the smallest – ‘Pembina’ and clone 5/6. The results obtained in 2017–2018 largely confirmed the results obtained in the years 2015–2016