IMPACT OF SCION-ROOTSTOCK COMBINATIONS ON DROUGHT RESISTANCE OF PEACH TREES

Abstract

In recent years, mean annual air temperature in Ukraine and the world continues to rise steadily. The transition of warm climate crops, including peach, from southern regions to cooler areas latitudes is observed. The article is devoted to the study of drought resistance of new scion-rootstock combinations of peach in modern agroclimatic conditions of the Northern Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine. Water-physical properties, such as water-holding capacity, moisture deficit and water content in the leaf tissues, were investigated in laboratory conditions. As a result of the experiment on moisture loss resistance, it was established that the level of drought tolerance is high in all combinations. It was determined that ‘Liybymets Ⅱ’, ‘Knyazhe bahatstvo’ and ‘Redhaven’ cultivars are characterized by the lowest indices of water deficit, and ‘Knyazhegradskyi’ by the highest. The highest water content in the leaf tissues was noted in the scion-rootstock combinations ‘Liybymets Ⅱ’ on Pumiselect (76%), ‘Knyazhe bahatstvo’ and ‘Knyazhe zoloto’ on apricot seedlings (84–79%). The tissues of the ‘Redhaven’ cultivar grafted on apricot seedlings were the least hydrated (66%). According to the complex of the determined indicators, Druzhba, Krymsk® 1 and Krymsk® 86 rootstocks are characterized by the lowest adaptive capacity to drought compared to the rest of the rootstocks.

Keywords

• prunus persica mill.
• adaptability
• water-holding capacity
• hydration
• moisture deficit