PRODUCTION, TREE DIMENSIONS AND EFFICIENCY OF GRAFT HOLDER FOR APPLE TREE

Abstract

In the Northwest of the State of Chihuahua, México, the intensive management of apple (Malus domestica Borkh) is just starting, since only 10% are grafted on clonal rootstocks and the rest on seedling rootstock; crop density is 200 trees per hectare and yield ranges from 4 to 12 ton/ha. This research was carried out at Bachíniva, Chih., from 1979 to 1989, in order to tind the best cultivar/rootstock combinations that could yield at least 20 ton/ha. Yield (kg/ha), yield efficiency (kg/cm²), and tree size  of nine cultivars (two Rome Beauty, three Golden Delicious and four Red Delicious) on five clonal rootstocks (MM-111, MM-106, MM-7, M-26 and M-9), were evaluated. The best combinations were Spur Red Rome Beauty/MM-111, Rome Beauty/M-9 and Spur Rome Beauty/M-9 with 26.6, 26.4 and 22.7 ton/ha, respectively; Spur Golden Delicious/ MM-111, Golden Delicious/M-9 and Gold Spur/
M-7 with 29.3, 28.1 and 28.2 ton/ha, respectively; Red Spur/MM-106 and Starkrimson/MM-111 with 23.2 and 22.5 ton/ha, respectively. The most efficient rootstock was M-9 with 2.49 kg/cm².