Study on Supercooling Point and Freezing Point in Floral Organs of Apricot

Abstract

Under the environment of an artificial climate chamber, supercooling point (SCP) and freezing point (FP) in flower and young fruit at different development stages and freezing injuries of floral organs were studied. The apricot cultivars tested were Kety, Golden Sun and Honghebao. With the development of flower buds, SCP and FP increased, which indicated that their cold resistance decreased. SCP and FP varied with different floral organs. For different apricot cultivars, it was found that, the lower SCP or FP in floral organs was, the more resistant capacity the cultivar had, and the larger the temperature interval from SCP to FP was. SCP was not a constant value, but a range. Frequency distribution of SCP in petals was more dispersing than that in stamens and pistils. Floral organs could maintain a supercooling state to avoid ice formation, but they were sensitive to freezing. Once floral organs froze, they turned brown after thawing.