How does peach fruit set on sylleptic shoots borne on epicormics compare with fruit set on proleptic shoots?
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Author
Fyhrie, K.
Prats-Llinàs, M.T.
López, G.
DeJong, T.M.
Publication date
2018-02-22ISSN
1611-4426
Abstract
Proleptic and epicormic shoots on peach (Prunus
persica) have different growth characteristics that
have management implications for peach production.
Proleptic shoots arise from buds after a dormant
period, and are made up mostly of preformed nodes
and organs which exist in dormant buds and extend
after bud-break. Epicormic shoots (also known as
‘water sprouts’) arise from preventitious meristems
without the formation of a bud and are characterized
by vigorous, upright growth. They are usually
stimulated by heavy pruning, branch breaking, or
drastic branch bending and exhibit low correlative
inhibition which results in many lateral sylleptic
shoots. Because lateral meristems that form
sylleptic shoots have no preformed organs, sylleptic
shoots are made entirely of neo-formed growth.
Epicormic shoots, in contrast to the determinate
nature of proleptic shoots, continue growing until
environmental conditions become unfavorable;
however this study indicates that sylleptic shoots
on epicormic shoots appear to be limited to similar
numbers of nodes as proleptic shoots even though
they may grow as late as 180 days after bud-break.
Both proleptic, and sylleptic shoots borne on
epicormic shoots, have flower buds but it is not clear
if the flower buds on both types of shoots are equally
capable of setting fruit. The objective of this research
was to compare flowering and fruit set on proleptic
and sylleptic shoots on four different peach cultivars
with different times of fruit maturity. Differences in
flower bud density, flowering, initial fruit set and
final fruit set were observed between shoot types and
among cultivars. Flower bud density was higher on
proleptic shoots than sylleptic shoots on all cultivars
and there was greater flower bud drop prior to bloom
on sylleptic shoots of three of the cultivars. Initial
percent fruit set of buds that flowered was very
high (> 80%) on both shoot types of all cultivars but
percent final fruit set was higher on sylleptic shoots
of two of the cultivars. On average, proleptic shoots
of a specific cultivar bore more fruit per shoot than
sylleptic shoots of the same cultivar and the two
earliest maturing cultivars tended to bear more fruit
per respective shoot type than the two later maturing
cultivars.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Accepted version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
631 - Agriculture in general
Pages
28
Publisher
International Society for Horticultural Science
Is part of
European Journal of Horticultural Science
Citation
Fyhrie, K., Prats-Llinàs, M.T., López, G. and DeJong, T.M. 2018. "How does peach fruit set on sylleptic shoots borne on epicormics compare with fruit set on proleptic shoots?". Eur.J.Hortic.Sci. 83(1), 3-11.
Program
Ús Eficient de l'Aigua en Agricultura
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- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2829]
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