PRELIMINARY HORTICULTURAL RESULTS AND WATER PHYSIOLOGY ASPECTS IN NEW ALMOND ROOTSTOCKS SELECTIONS

Abstract

The use of other rootstocks as an alternative to the traditional bitter almond is one of the main factors which can contribute to the renewal of the almond industry in Mediterranean countries. Since the 1980s, there has been a large diffusion of GF 677, but this hybrid has problems with soil pathogens and nematodes. In order to expand the possibility of choices and to find solutions to problems that at present cannot be overcome through the use of available rootstocks, research was carried out under the Project CAMAR CT 90-0023 by scientists belonging to several European countries with the objective of obtaining and/or selecting new rootstocks for almonds. GF 677 and Garrigues were compared with the most advanced selections from each country: M51 (a clone of P. amygdalus), ISF - Rome, Italy; GxN 15 and GxN 22 (cultivar Garfi x Nemared) SIA-Saragossa, Spain; MB 3/7 and MB 3/8 (P. persica x P. amygdalus) IRTA-Reus, Spain; Stylianidis C (P. amygdalus x P. persica) IAF - Naoussa, Greece. A rootstock trials network was planted in 1996, to study the performances of the rootstocks in different sites and culture conditions. This paper reports on the preliminary horticultural performances and the physiological behaviour of the rootstocks planted at the experimental field of ISF – Rome, Italy.