Growth and branching of pear trees (Pyrus domestica, Rosaceae) in nursery

Abstract

The study was conducted in two successive years to examine the capacity of formation of sylleptic shoots in nursery trees of 'Abbe Fetel', 'Conference' and 'Starking Delicious' pear cultivars grafted on quince MA and quince BA 29 rootstocks during the first year after bud grafting. Tree height, trunk diameter - 10 cm above the bud union and number of sylleptic shoots were measured at the end of each season. Tree height was measured from the ground level. The greatest number of sylleptic shoots was registered in 'Abbe Fetel' in both seasons, and the smallest in 'Starking Delicious'. Tree height and tree diameter were highly significantly affected by cultivar in both years and by rootstock in 2008. The interactions between them did not significantly affect the examined parameters. The study showed that the early growth and syllepsis of pear nursery trees during the first year after bud-grafting were incomparably more affected by cultivar than by rootstock.