The effect of flowering date and temperature on embryo development in sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.).

Abstract

Experiments involving the exposure of the early variety Kassins Fruhe [Kassin's Early] and the late-ripening seedling rootstock Limburgse Boskriek [Limburg Gean] to temperatures of 14-23 deg C during fruit development, and of the very early variety Fruheste der Mark [Earliest of the Marches] and Kassins Fruhe to low-temperature shocks during their incubation at 17 and 20 deg C, are described, and reanalysed field data on the embryo quality of 15 varieties during 1954-65 are presented. The results indicate that fruit development at temperatures below 16-18 deg C resulted in a deterioration of embryo quality, and the temperature sensitivity of the embryo generally increased as the period from flowering to fruit ripeness shortened. It is suggested that more efficient breeding for earliness could be achieved by maintaining trees at temperatures above 18 deg C during the period from flowering to the completion of embryo growth. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)