MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF FRUIT BEARING SHOOTSOF APRICOT CULTIVARS

Morphological properties of fruit bearing shoots: length, number of flowerbuds and vegetative buds and their ratio were studied in 20 apricot cultivars duringa two-year period. Control cultivar for comparison was ‘Hungarian Best’ (‘Magyarkajszi’), clone 235. Fruit bearing shoots of apricot were classified into threegroups: shoots, sylleptic shoots and spurs. The average length of shoots rangedfrom 68.8 to 85.0 cm; of sylleptic shoots from 6.9 to 27.0 cm; and of spurs from1.4 to 4.1 cm. Flower buds/vegetative buds ratio was higher in spurs and syllepticshoots (2,5 on average), compared to shoots (1,8 on average). Most of the studiedapricot cultivars are characterized by higher flower bud density compared tocontrol cultivar (‘Hungarian Best’), indicating their higher yield potential. For allstudied traits statistically significant differences between cultivars were found. Thegreat variability was found in length of shoots, number of flower buds, and numberof vegetative buds, while small coefficients of variation were found in thickness ofshoots and length of internodes. Based on the obtained results, recommendationsfor pruning can be made. Cultivars with a higher number of flower buds (per 1 min length and in relation to vegetative buds) such as: ‘Lenova’, ‘Tomcot’, ‘Veecot’,‘Ninfa’, ‘Sophia’, ‘Silvercot’ and ‘Goldrich’ require severe pruning. On the otherhand, cultivars with lower flower bud density e.g. ‘Hungarian Best’, ‘CegledyArany’ and ‘Bella d’Imola’ can be pruned slightly.