Cranberry tree (Viburnum opulus L.) аccessions of the L.P. Symyrenko pomology experimental station of the institute of horticulture in the forest-steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

Aim. To determine economic and biological indicators (yield, average weight, palatability) of Viburnum opulus accessions under the conditions of the central forest-steppe of Ukraine. Results and Discussion. V. opulus accessions were studied at the L.P. Symyrenko Experimental Station of Pomology of the Institute of Horticulture of NAAS in 2015-2019. Five cultivars were studied: Koralova, Velykoplidna, Rubinova, Ukrainochka, and Bahriaana. In addition, 21 elite hybrid forms, which had been planted in plots of 4 m x1.5 m in 1998, were investigated. The number of recorded plants per plot was 15 in 3 replications. Measurements and monitoring were performed according to conventional methods. Multi-year breeding resulted in the following cranberry tree cultivars: Koralova, Velykoplidna, Rubinova, Ukrainochka, and Bahriana. Pomological characteristics of the cultivars are given for basic economic and biological features under the conditions of the forest-steppe of Ukraine. The yield capacity is the main criterion in economic evaluation of V. opulus. It to a large extent depends on characteristics of a cultivar, soil and climatic factors, and farming techniques. The fruit size and palatability are major components of the performance determining the fruit quality. Large and uniform berries are more attractive both as fresh and as frozen products. In 2015-2019, the V. opulus yield ranged 6.52 to 9.37 kg per bush and 10.9 to 15.6 tons per hectare. The average berry weight was 0.8 - 1.25 g. Cultivar Bahriana and hybrid form Ch-19500 were the most productive: 9.37 kg and 9.19 kg per bush, respectively. Velykoplidna, Rubinova and Bahriana were distinguished due to the average berry weight: 1.25 g, 1.2 g and 1.2 g, respectively. We built up a working collection of V. opulus accessions by yield capacity and quality. The collection comprises 20 cultivars. All the cultivars are of local origin. The collection is formed by the following traits: yield level, berry size, berry shape, berry after colour, berry hardness, palatability, and the berry number per corymb. Conclusions. The 2015-2019 studies showed that the highest yields were obtained from Bahriana (15.6 t/ha), elite hybrid form Ch-19500 (15.3 t/ha) and elite hybrid form P-19503 (15 t/ha); the highest fruit weight was recorded in Velykoplidna (1.25 g), Rubinova (1.2 g), Bahriana (1.2 g), Ukrainochka (1.15 g), and elite hybrid form P-19503 (1.16 g); the best palatability scores were intrinsic to Koralova (8.5 points), Rubinova (8.5), Ukrainochka (8.3), Bahriana (8.3), elite hybrid form K-19501 (8.3).