Fruit yield and quality characteristics of “Shahmiveh” pear cultivar grafted on six rootstocks

Abstract

The growth, yield and fruit quality of 7-year-old trees of “Sahahmiveh” pear grafted on six rootstocks, including four quinces (QA, QB, QC, and PQBA29) and an Iranian native pear “Konjoni,” and a wild-type European pear (Pyrus communis L.), were evaluated in a completely randomized design trial with three replications at the Agricultural Research Center of Kabutarabad, Isfahan, Iran in 2 years (2013 and 2014). Yield and fruit weight of all rootstocks were markedly enhanced in the second year of the experiment. Considering both fruit yield and quality, “Sahahmiveh” scions on PQBA29 had the most suitable performance in both years. “Sahahmiveh”-PQBA29 combination exhibited the largest leaf dimensions (5.03 cm width and 7.27 cm length), fruit size values (6.3 cm width and 9.3 cm length), fruit weight (205 g per fruit) the highest yield (41.3 kg per tree), and acceptable fruit internal quality (0.4% titratable acidity and 17.4°brix total soluble solid) in 2014. The highest yield followed by QA (39.6 kg per tree) without significant differences compared to PQBA29. However, “Sahahmiveh”-QA fruit weight (189 g per fruit) and width (5.9 cm) values were markedly less than that of “Sahahmiveh”-PQBA29 in 2014. In conclusion, “Shahmiveh” pear cultivar grafted on PQBA29 exhibited more suitable fruit yield and quality values compared to the other rootstocks and, thus, would be the best rootstock for “Sahahmiveh” pear in Isfahan.