Fruiting of Rowan varieties in the Mari El Republic

Abstract

Among fruit crops, Rowan is one of the most winter-hardy. In Russia, the predominant varieties are those derived from Sorbus aucuparia. Rowan fruits are used in fresh and dried form, they are valuable in food, dietary, and medicinal terms. The objects of this study were 7 Rowan varieties in the exposition «Wild fruit plants» of the Botanical garden-Institute of Volga State University of Technology (Yoshkar-Ola, Mari El Republic). The research was conducted in 2014–2019. The fruits were collected in the mass maturation phase and weighed in 3 samples of 100 pieces. The yield of air-dry fruits, expressed as a percentage, was obtained by the ratio of the mass of dried fruits to the mass of freshly harvested ones. It was found that the varieties ‘Alaya Krupnaya’, ‘Titan’, ‘Granatnaya’, and ‘Burka’ are characterized by large fruits. ‘Desertnaya Michurina’, ‘Nevezhinskaya’, and ‘Doch Kubovoy’ are small-fruited varieties. The most favorable for fruiting of most varieties were 2016 and 2019 with dry conditions of the growing season. Excessively moistened conditions in 2017 negatively affected the formation of Rowan fruits. The yield of air-dry raw materials was inversely correlated with the weight of fruits. The obtained data can be used in the organization of plantation cultivation of Rowan varieties in the conditions of the Volga-Vyatka region.