Differential growth of plum rootstocks in indoor or outdoor conditions

• Published in: Acta horticulturae no. 658; pp. 661 - 665
• Main Authors: Romero, M.A, Urrutia, M.I, Viviers, A.M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Society for Horticultural Science 01-01-2004
• Subjects: analysis of variance; early development; experimental design; fruit growing; greenhouses; hardwood; humidity; plums; protected cultivation; Prunus domestica; rootstocks; sanitation; shoots; temperature; vegetative growth; vigor
• ISSN: 0567-7572; 2406-6168
• DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.658.101

The production of quality plants with a sanitation certificate is one of the challenges to bear in mind when setting up a production system. These plants are grown under nursery conditions. In current Argentine fruit culture, there is no awareness of the importance of plants free from diseases and certified as such. The multiplication of commercial fruit samples of plum (Prunus domestica) gives rise to the use of grafts and rootstocks of varied growth, vigour and precocity. Traditionally, the rootstock production is carried out by means of vegetatively-propagated material (hardwood cuttings). The cuttings removal is done in the Mother Plant sector, which is conducted in outdoor nursery conditions. A feasible alternative is the handling of the Mother Plants in greenhouse conditions to obtain vegetative material (herbaceous cuttings). As the temperature and humidity variables are controlled, the behavior becomes perennial, diminishing the accumulation of inhibiting factors and shortening its inactive period. The present report is based on the analysis and evaluation of the differential vegetative growth of Mother Plants grown under supervised conditions, in contrast to Mother Plants grown in the open. The material employed was: Marianna GF 8-1, Myrobalan B and Julior-Ferdor, having ten repetitions of each in the open, as well as in the greenhouse. The variable measured was the growth of the shoots for obtaining cuttings. The experimental design used was a random block distribution with two treatments and ten repetitions. The growth of the rootstock was statistically evaluated with an ANOVA test. In those cases in which a significant difference was detected for the F value, a Multiple Range Test was used. In the greenhouse there were some significant differences among the studied rootstocks. The best growth was observed in the Julior-Ferdor, which showed significant differences if compared with Marianna but not with Myrobalan B. In the outdoor Mother Plants, there were significant differences among them. The greatest growth was found in the Myrobalan B, followed by Julior-Ferdor and Marianna. Statistically comparing each of the rootstocks under both conditions by means of the Student Method, no significant differences were observed for Marianna and Myrobalan B, unlike for Julior-Ferdor. The cultivation of protected Mother Plants produces a rise in the vegetative growth, sufficient to provide a higher yield of cuttings, if compared with the outdoor conditions. This form of cultivation allows us to optimise resources.