SELECTION OF FLOOD – TOLERANT PRUNUS ROOTSTOCKS USING SAP FLOW

Recent changes in rainfall regime and increased frequency of heavy rains have enlarged the incidence of flooding and therefore the damages to stone fruit production. Myrobalan plums (Prunus cerasifera) are known for their resistance to heavy soils and flooding. Selection of appropriate rootstocks is becoming imperative even for dryer climates. Albania is very rich in myrobalans and within this gene pool it should be possible to find resistant genotypes but their screening requires a fast method. The research presented here describes the use of sap flow for selecting resistant genotypes. We have screened several local genotypes of myrobalans as candidate rootstocks for flooding tolerance/resistance. Sap flow sensors were installed on seedlings growing in pots and subjected to flooding. Data from sap flow, soil potential and other meteorological sensors were used to evaluate their ability to recover. The results showed that the genotypes were able to continue to recover after the flooding events. The advantage of the method is to detect the sap flow movement even at very low rates.