Influence of Pollination Conditions on Fruit Set of Selected Blackcurrant Genotypes and Recently Released Cultivars

Abstract

Fruit set of blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) cultivars ‘Almo’, ‘ Ats’, ‘ Elo’, and ‘ Karri’ and four breeder's selections was investigated under open pollination, artificial, and natural self-pollination conditions in 2006–2007. The percentage of fertilized flowers, number of seeds per fruit, and fruit weight was largely genotype dependant, but it was also affected by the pollination conditions. All genotypes proved to be self-fertile, but the best fruit set occurred under open pollination conditions. There was a medium strength positive correlation between fertilization rate and fruit weight, and a below average positive correlation between the number of seeds and fruit weight.