Flowering features of rare fruit plants of the Rosaceae Juss. family

Abstract

One of the ways to solve the problem of food security is to increase the proportion of non-traditional crops' fruits in the diet with valuable consumer characteristics and a wide range of application in fruit growing, selection, and greening. The seasonal development rhythm - especially the flowering phase - is important in the study of rare fruit plants introduced into culture as it determines the plants' resistance to adverse environmental factors and the ability to produce full-fledged fruits and seeds. The purpose of this research was to study the flowering characteristics of non-traditional fruit crops of the Rosaceae Juss. family to determine the prospects of their use in selection and greening. From 2012 to 2021, 16 species were studied in the arboretum of the Russian Research Institute of Fruit Crop Breeding (VNIISPK, Orel, Russian Federation). The flowering calendar compiled on the basis of the conducted phenological observations shows various dates of the objects' flowering onset, which makes it possible to use them as ornamental plants when creating parks and gardens of continuous flowering. Chaenomeles Maulei, Malus niedzwetzkyana, Crataegus submollis and Padus virginiana have the most ornamental blossoming. Of these, Chaenomeles Maule has the longest flowering period (more than 20 days). A consistently high flowering degree (4.5-5.0 points) was observed in twelve objects, which determines the prospects of their application in the selection process as sources of certain economically valuable traits: early flowering (Malus prunifolia and Sorbus aria), long-term flowering (Chaenomeles Maulei, Malus prunifolia and Rosa canina), a high ornamental flowering degree (Chaenomeles Maulei, Malus niedzwetzkyana, Crataegus submollis and Padus virginiana).