Rootstock effect on horticultural performance and fruit quality is not uniform across five commercial apple cultivars in western New York

IntroductionThe interactive effect of different apple scions with commonly used rootstocks could result in growers selecting an inferior option for tree survival, yield, and fruit quality.MethodsThe long-term tree performance and fruit quality interactions of 19 rootstocks (including Budagovsky, Gen...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Brian T. Lawrence, Gennaro Fazio, Luis Gonzalez Nieto, Terence L. Robinson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1552625/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850033156151836672
author Brian T. Lawrence
Gennaro Fazio
Luis Gonzalez Nieto
Luis Gonzalez Nieto
Terence L. Robinson
author_facet Brian T. Lawrence
Gennaro Fazio
Luis Gonzalez Nieto
Luis Gonzalez Nieto
Terence L. Robinson
author_sort Brian T. Lawrence
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionThe interactive effect of different apple scions with commonly used rootstocks could result in growers selecting an inferior option for tree survival, yield, and fruit quality.MethodsThe long-term tree performance and fruit quality interactions of 19 rootstocks (including Budagovsky, Geneva, and Malling series) and 5 apple cultivars (‘Empire’, ‘Gala’, ‘Honeycrisp’, ‘Mustu’, and ‘Delicious’) were explored in two orchards in Western New York. The first orchard examined the five cultivars on dwarfing rootstocks (B.9, CG.4210, G.11, G.16, G.202, G.41, G.65, G.814, M.26, M.9Pajam2, and M.9T337) and was planted at a spacing of 1.22 m x 3.66 m (2,243 trees ha-1). The second orchard examined the same cultivars on semi-dwarfing rootstocks (B.118, G.214, G.30, G.210, G.935, G.222, M.26, and M.7) and was planted at a spacing of 1.83 m x 4.27 m (1,282 trees ha-1). ResultsFollowing 17 years, the variables of tree mortality, growth, cumulative yield, and cumulative yield efficiency each resulted in a significant interaction between cultivar and rootstock in both orchards. There were no significant interactions on quality variables measured except fruit color of the 3 bi-colored ‘Gala’, ‘Honeycrisp’ and ‘Delicious’ for both the dwarfing and semi-dwarfing rootstocks. Discussion/ConclusionsThe implications of the interactions observed are that apple producers should pair specific rootstocks with specific cultivars to optimize orchard performance.
format Article
id doaj-art-07bdea8d39754bc5b46c67cbfe2444f0
institution DOAJ
issn 1664-462X
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Plant Science
spelling doaj-art-07bdea8d39754bc5b46c67cbfe2444f02025-08-20T02:58:19ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2025-03-011610.3389/fpls.2025.15526251552625Rootstock effect on horticultural performance and fruit quality is not uniform across five commercial apple cultivars in western New YorkBrian T. Lawrence0Gennaro Fazio1Luis Gonzalez Nieto2Luis Gonzalez Nieto3Terence L. Robinson4School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Horticulture Section, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, Geneva, NY, United StatesU.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS) Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Cornell AgriTech, Geneva, NY, United StatesSchool of Integrative Plant Sciences, Horticulture Section, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, Geneva, NY, United StatesFruit Production Programme, Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), Lleida, Catalonia, SpainSchool of Integrative Plant Sciences, Horticulture Section, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, Geneva, NY, United StatesIntroductionThe interactive effect of different apple scions with commonly used rootstocks could result in growers selecting an inferior option for tree survival, yield, and fruit quality.MethodsThe long-term tree performance and fruit quality interactions of 19 rootstocks (including Budagovsky, Geneva, and Malling series) and 5 apple cultivars (‘Empire’, ‘Gala’, ‘Honeycrisp’, ‘Mustu’, and ‘Delicious’) were explored in two orchards in Western New York. The first orchard examined the five cultivars on dwarfing rootstocks (B.9, CG.4210, G.11, G.16, G.202, G.41, G.65, G.814, M.26, M.9Pajam2, and M.9T337) and was planted at a spacing of 1.22 m x 3.66 m (2,243 trees ha-1). The second orchard examined the same cultivars on semi-dwarfing rootstocks (B.118, G.214, G.30, G.210, G.935, G.222, M.26, and M.7) and was planted at a spacing of 1.83 m x 4.27 m (1,282 trees ha-1). ResultsFollowing 17 years, the variables of tree mortality, growth, cumulative yield, and cumulative yield efficiency each resulted in a significant interaction between cultivar and rootstock in both orchards. There were no significant interactions on quality variables measured except fruit color of the 3 bi-colored ‘Gala’, ‘Honeycrisp’ and ‘Delicious’ for both the dwarfing and semi-dwarfing rootstocks. Discussion/ConclusionsThe implications of the interactions observed are that apple producers should pair specific rootstocks with specific cultivars to optimize orchard performance.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1552625/fullcultivar-rootstock interactionorchard productionyieldfruit sizefruit firmnessfruit red color
spellingShingle Brian T. Lawrence
Gennaro Fazio
Luis Gonzalez Nieto
Luis Gonzalez Nieto
Terence L. Robinson
Rootstock effect on horticultural performance and fruit quality is not uniform across five commercial apple cultivars in western New York
Frontiers in Plant Science
cultivar-rootstock interaction
orchard production
yield
fruit size
fruit firmness
fruit red color
title Rootstock effect on horticultural performance and fruit quality is not uniform across five commercial apple cultivars in western New York
title_full Rootstock effect on horticultural performance and fruit quality is not uniform across five commercial apple cultivars in western New York
title_fullStr Rootstock effect on horticultural performance and fruit quality is not uniform across five commercial apple cultivars in western New York
title_full_unstemmed Rootstock effect on horticultural performance and fruit quality is not uniform across five commercial apple cultivars in western New York
title_short Rootstock effect on horticultural performance and fruit quality is not uniform across five commercial apple cultivars in western New York
title_sort rootstock effect on horticultural performance and fruit quality is not uniform across five commercial apple cultivars in western new york
topic cultivar-rootstock interaction
orchard production
yield
fruit size
fruit firmness
fruit red color
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1552625/full
work_keys_str_mv AT briantlawrence rootstockeffectonhorticulturalperformanceandfruitqualityisnotuniformacrossfivecommercialapplecultivarsinwesternnewyork
AT gennarofazio rootstockeffectonhorticulturalperformanceandfruitqualityisnotuniformacrossfivecommercialapplecultivarsinwesternnewyork
AT luisgonzaleznieto rootstockeffectonhorticulturalperformanceandfruitqualityisnotuniformacrossfivecommercialapplecultivarsinwesternnewyork
AT luisgonzaleznieto rootstockeffectonhorticulturalperformanceandfruitqualityisnotuniformacrossfivecommercialapplecultivarsinwesternnewyork
AT terencelrobinson rootstockeffectonhorticulturalperformanceandfruitqualityisnotuniformacrossfivecommercialapplecultivarsinwesternnewyork