Chilling of Endodormant Peach Propagules: III. Budbreak and Subsequent Growth of Physiologically Dwarfed to Near Normal Seedlings

Abstract

We studied the response of physiologically dwarfed (PD) to near normal peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] seedlings (`Johnson Elberta' seeds) to various chilling treatments. Peach seedlings were obtained by forcing seeds that had been subjected to a brief stratification treatment. Seedlings were divided into four types (groups) according to the length of the primary stem and the presence and size of lateral branches. The seedlings were used in a chilling study with treatments of five durations (20 to 60 days) at four temperatures (2 to 14C). Terminal shoot growth and lateral budbreak were recorded 17 days after forcing. Shoot and leaf dry weight were obtained after seedlings had grown for 64 days. Budbreak and growth improved with the duration of the chilling treatment. Generally, 7C was the best chilling temperature, with 2 or 10C only slightly less effective. Treatment at 14C did not promote budbreak or growth. Budbreak and growth had significant interactions between treatment duration and temperature. The seedling type and treatment duration interaction was significant for terminal shoot length, lateral budbreak, and leaf dry weight, but were probably the result of differences between the seedling types before treatment and not true interactions with the length of the treatment. There was a significant interaction between the seedling type and treatment temperature on terminal shoot growth. Subsequent shoot growth did not differ significantly between the seedling types after similar chilling treatments. Thus, shoot growth was the best indicator of the chilling process of `Johnson Elberta' peach seedlings. Indicators of dormancy removal such as lateral budbreak or terminal shoot growth after 17 days forcing were not good predictors of subsequent seedling growth.