Study of drought tolerance of hybrid material of home plum in southern Russia

Abstract

Relevance. Theaim of the research was to determine the physiological characteristics of the manifestation of resistance to stress factors (drought) of new hybrid forms of domestic plum and the allocation of the most drought-resistant in the environmental conditions of southern gardening.Methods.The article presents the results of drought tolerance studies of six promising hybrid forms of home plum (17–1-55, 17–1-69, 17–2-64, 17–2-78, 17–2-81, 17–3-79), concentrated in the genetic collection of SKFNTSVV. The main indicators characterizing the varieties and hybrids of home plum were determined as drought tolerant — the water content of the leaves and the water holding capacity of the leaves under conditions of summer moisture deficiency.Results.The water content of leaf tissue of hybrid forms in the hottest period (second — third decade of July) was heterogeneous. The highest water content in tissues was observed in hybrid seedlings 17–2-64 (63.1%) and 17–2-81 (59.6%). The smallest value was observed in the hybrid 17–3-79 and amounted to 49.7%. According to the data obtained, it was concluded that the studied hybrid forms do not differ in high water content, with the exception of hybrid 17–2-64, in which the water content can be characterized as above average. It was found that the water retention capacity of most hybrid forms is average. The total water content after withering in the studied hybrids was more than 80%. The greatest decrease in the amount of water in the leaves was observed in hybrids 17–1-55 (18.9%), 17–2-64 (18.5%), 17–3-79 (18.4%); the smallest — in hybrids 17–1-69 (13.3%), 17–2-78 (13.6%), which indicates a highwater retention capacity of the last two hybrids. With a general assessment of the hybrid fund of home plum, it was found that most hybrids studied have low hydration of leaf tissue and average water retention capacity. Based on this, two drought-resistant hybrid forms were identified: 17–1-69 and 17–2-78, which, despite the low water content, are distinguished by good water-holding ability in comparison with other hybrids and, as a consequence, the conservation of leaf turgor.