Title: Preliminary results of in situcharacterisation of autochthonous apple genotypes originated from the central and southwest Serbia region

Authors: Slađana Marić, Ivana Glišić, Nebojša Milošević, Jelena Tomić, Mira Milinković, Milena Đorđević, Sanja Radičević

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Abstract: The paper presents the main biological properties of 17 in situ old local apple cultivars and landraces grown in the regions of central and southwestern Serbia: ‘Ilinjača’ (Jezdina), ‘Kraljica’, ‘Vidovača’, ‘Ilinjača’ (Trnava), ‘J-GM/1’, ‘Prancija’, ‘Strekinja’, ‘Lepocvetka’, ‘J-LuN/1’, ‘Prancija Slatka’, ‘D`umurka’, ‘Slatka Kadumana’, ‘Lubenjaja’, ‘J-ČaO/1’, ‘Senabija’, ‘Budimka’ and ‘Kolačara’. The following characteristics of these genotypes were assessed: flowering phenophase, harvest date, pomological properties (physical and chemical, including bioactive compounds) and disease susceptibility to scab ŠVenturia inaequalis (Cooke) Wint.Ć and fireblight ŠErwinia amylovora (Burnill)Ć. The average flowering time was during the third decade of April, whilst the predominant harvest date was from mid-September to midOctober. The highest fruit weight was determined in ‘Ilinjača’ (Trnava), while the lowest was in ‘Vidovača’ (262.99 g and 29.23 g, resp.). The best fruit quality among the assessed genotypes, measured by the fruit chemical composition, was found in ‘Senabija’ (soluble solids content – 17.05%; total and invert sugars content 12.70% and 9.66%, resp.). The cultivar ‘Strekinja’ and landrace ‘J-ČaO/1’ were characterised by the highest content of total phenols and anthocyanins, respectively. In terms of fruit attractiveness, ‘Lepocvetka’, ‘J-ČaO/1’, ‘Senabija’ and ‘Budimka’ could be singled out. All of the studied genotypes showed resistance to fireblight and a relatively narrow range of susceptibility to scab under field conditions. Overall, Serbian autochthonous apple genotypes appear to carry useful characteristics that could be important for current/future breeding work and commercial growing suitable for fresh consumption, industrial and domestic processing.

Key words: Malus domestica Borkh., indigenous genotypes, phenological properties, pomological properties, resistance

Title: EFFECT OF BLOSSOM THINNING ON YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY OF ‘GOLDEN DELICIOUS’ APPLE

Authors: Slavica Spasojević, Čedo Oparnica, Jasminka Milivojević, Dragan Radivojević

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Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of two bloosom thinners ammonium thiosulphate (ATS) and ethephon on the yield and fruit characteristics of the ‘Golden Delicious’ apple variety, as well as whether the use of caustic agent ATS affects the higher occurrence of fruit russet in this sensitive cultivar. The experiment was performed during 2021 in the fourth leaf of ‘Golden Delicious’ apple orchard located in village Mala Ivanča (Municipality of Mladenovac). Thinning agents were applied at full bloom alone or in various combinations in different concentrations, with water use of 1,000 l ha-1 or reduced of 330 l ha-1. It was noticed that ATS, as a caustic agent, did not increase the appearance of russeting on the fruit skin surface of the tested cultivar. ATS applied alone, except of the treatment when ATS was applied alone in higher concentration (4.5%) with a reduced amount of water (330 l ha-1), promoted early fruit thinning. In all the applied treatments the share of fruits with a diameter smaller than 60 mm was reduced compared to the control treatment. This effect was particularly manifested in the treatments when ethephon was applied alone or in combination with ATS. The applied agents caused the significant reduction in the number of seeds in the fruit compared to the control treatment, but that did not cause expected effect in return bloom.

Key words: apple, ATS, ethephon, bloom thinning, yield, fruit quality

Title: INFLUENCE OF ROOTSTOCKS ORIGINATED FROM AUTOCHTHONOUS PLUM GENOTYPES ON ‘ČAČANSKA LEPOTICA’ CHARACTERSITCS

Authors: Mirjana Ljubojević, Gordana Barać, Milica Grubač, Magdalena Pušić, Tijana Narandžić, Jovana Ostojić, Dejan Prvulović, Radenka Kolarov, Vladislav Ognjanov

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Abstract: Favorable conditions for production, as well as the abundance of autochthonous germplasm within the European plum (Prunus domestica L.) in Serbia, enable the improvement of both production and quality of fruits. For that reason, the aim of the study was to determine the influence of rootstocks originated from autochthonous plum genotypes: myrobalan (Prunus cerasifera), dumson plum (Prunus insititia) and local white plum, ‘Gorčivka’, ‘Turgunja’, ‘Moravka’ and ‘Rosička @utka’ (Prunus domestica) on general morphological, pomological and biochemical characteristics of ‘Čačanska Lepotica’ variety. The highest vigour of grafted trees, expressed through the effective crown volume, was achieved on the turgunja 2 rootstock (1.87 m3), while the minimum volume was caused by gorčivka 2 rootstock, with 0.35 m3. The fruits on the examined autochthonous rootstock candidates reached a fairly uniform fruit mass, with values of 37.5-43.6 g and stone mass of only 1.6-1.8 g. Biochemical analysis of fruits revealed a significant influence of rootstock on the total phenols’ content (76.5-230 mg and 231-463 mg), tannins’ content (47.2-211 mg and 205-314 mg) and total anthocyanins’ content (0.0081-0.230 mg and 12.9-24.4 mg) in the ‘Čačanska Lepotica’ mesocarp and skin, resprectively. In all tested combinations, the content of active compounds and the values of DPPH and FRAP tests were higher in the skin than in the mesocarp. The obtained results indicate a significant influence of rootstocks originating from autochthonous plum ecotypes on the variety ‘Čačanska Lepotica’ as well as the need for further study of interactions between indigenous rootstocks and plum varieties.

Key words: plum, Prunus domestica, autochthonous rootstocks, effective crown volume, nutritional value

Title: PHENOLOGICAL TRAITS, YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY OF MEDIUM EARLY SWEET CHERRY CULTIVARS IN THE BELGRADE REGION

Authors: Dragan Milatović, Gordan Zec, Đorđe Boškov, Dejan Đurović, Boban Đorđević

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Abstract: In the period of five years (2017-2021) in the area of Belgrade, the phenological characteristics, vigour, yield and fruit quality of of ten sweet cherry cultivars of medium early ripening time were examined. The ‘Summit’ cultivar was used as a control for comparison. Compared to the standard cultivar, the average flowering time was 1-6 days earlier, while the average ripening time was from three days earlier to one day later. The lowest average yield per tree was found in the cultivar ‘Aida’ (1.7 kg), and the highest in the cultivar ‘Rosalina’ (6.0 kg). In three of the five years of research, late spring frosts in the flowering phenophase occured, which significantly reduced the yield. Only the cultivar ‘Rosalina’ had a statistically significantly higher yield compared to the control cultivar. The cultivar ‘Sandra Rose’ had a significantly higher vigour, expressed as the trunk cross-sectional area. The cumulative yield efficiency for a period of five years ranged from 0.09 kg cm-2 (‘Aida’) to 0.34 kg cm-2 (‘Celeste’). The average fruit weight was the lowest in the cultivars ‘Giorgia’ and ‘Sylvia’ (7.8 g), and it was statistically significantly lower compared to the control cultivar. The highest fruit weight (9.4 g) was found in ‘Rosalina’ cultivar. The content of soluble solids (SSC) varied from 16.0% (‘Blaze Star’) to 18.2% (‘Sylvia’), and the total acid content (TAC) ranged from 0.55% (‘Celeste’) to 0.89% (‘Rosalina’). The cultivar ‘Celeste’ had the highest SSC/TAC ratio, and also received the highest sensory score for fruit taste. The cultivars ‘Celeste’, ‘Sandra Rose’ and ‘Summit’ received the highest scores for the fruit appearance, and the cultivars ‘Sandra Rose’ and ‘Aida’ for the fruit firmness. Based on the obtained results, for cultivation in the Belgrade region, the cultivars ‘Celeste’, ‘Rosalina’, ‘Sandra Rose’ and ‘Santina’ can be recommended.

Key words: Prunus avium, flowering, ripening, yield, fruit quality

Title: BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGHBUSH BLUEBERRY (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) CULTIVARS

Authors: Milan Blagojević, Stefan Marković, Nemanja Stošić, Vera Rašković, Ljiljana Tanasić, Vojislav Tomić, Pakeza Drkenda

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Abstract: The paper presents the results of one-year (2021) study of phenological (phenophase of leafing, flowering and ripening) and pomological characteristics (morphometric and chemical fruit properties, intensity of bloom and colorimetric fruit parameters), generative potential (number of bearing branches, number of berries per bearing branch and per bush) and yield (yield per bush and unit area) of cultivars ‘Duke’, ‘Reka’ and ‘Huron’ grown in a commercial blueberry plantation in the vicinity of Šabac. The earliest beginning of the phenophases of leafing, flowering and fruit ripening was recorded in the cultivar ‘Duke’. The latest beginning of the phenophases of leafing and ripening was determined in the cultivar ‘Huron’, while the latest beginning of flowering was found in the cultivar ‘Reka’. The highest abundance of flowering (4.5), as well as the largest number of bearing branches per bush (54.40), the number of fruits per bearing branch (56.60) and the number of fruits per bush (3,135.64) were determined in the cultivar ‘Reka’. In contrast, the highest yield per bush (5.03 kg) and unit area (15.10 t/ha) was found in the ‘Duke’, which also had the highest weight (1.71 g) and diameter (16.50 mm) of fruit. The smallest fruit was typical for cultivar ‘Reka’ (weight 1.27 g; diameter 13.02 mm). ‘Duke’ and ‘Huron’ did not differ significantly in terms of content of soluble solids (12.50 °Brix and 12.20 °Brix, respectively) and acids (0.50% and 0.54%, respectively), while the cultivar ‘Reka’ characterized by significantly lower values of the mentioned parameters (11.20 °Brix and 0.33%). The content of total sugars in the fruit of the studied blueberry varieties ranged from 92.03 mg g-1 (‘Huron’) to 96.86 mg g-1 (‘River’). Also, significant differences were found between cultivars in terms of the intensity of bloom on the fruit and certain colorimetric parameters.

Key words: blueberry, cultivar, leafing, flowering, ripening, yield, fruit quality

Title: Identification of Pseudomonas syringae isolates causing bacterial blight symptoms on pear and quince trees in Yozgat province of Turkey

Authors: Murat Öztürk, Soner Soylu

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Abstract: Pseudomonas syringae is a polyphagous phytopathogenic bacterial disease agent associated with more than 180 plants species. The bacterial agent causes economically important diseases on several species of fruit trees in Turkey. In 2019, pear and quince trees in several orchards in districts of Yozgat province located in the Central Anatolian Region of Turkey showed bacterial blight symptoms that differed from symptoms of fire blight caused by Erwinia amylovora. Bacterial isolates were obtained from necrotic pear and quince tissue on King’s medium B. Occurrence of pure greyish colonies producing green-blue fluorescent pigment was checked after incubation at 26 °C for 48 h. All purified isolates (n = 5) were Gram-negative, aerobic, and negative for oxidase, induced hypersensitive reaction on tobacco leaves, did not cause soft rot on potato slices, and formed levan-positive colonies on Nutrient Sucrose Agar medium. The identification of bacterial isolates was further confirmed by MALDI-TOF MS and molecular analysis. Identification of these isolates was confirmed by matching with reference Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae DSM6693 type strain by using MALDI-TOF MS analysis. For molecular identification was performed by sequencing the rpoD gene that was amplified with primer pair PsrpoD-FNP1/Psrp-Dnprpcr1. Obtained partial sequences of rpoD gene of five representative isolates showed 100% nucleotide similarity with rpoD gene sequences of available P. syringae pv. syringae isolates from the GenBank. Pathogenicity test revealed that these isolates caused typical disease symptoms on the inoculated pear and quince parts. Re-isolation of the pathogen was obtained from the margins of necrotic lesions on inoculated plant parts. Based on the expressed symptoms, biochemical characteristics, pathogenicity and molecular analysis, the causal disease agent was identified as Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae.

Key words: Bacterial blight, Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae, pear, quince, rpoD