THE STUDY OF ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS OF ALMOND

Abstract

Research is aimed at expanding the assortment of almonds as a valuable food product, which is in great demand in the confectionery, pharmaceutical industry and among the population. Industrial cultivation of almonds is possible in the republics of Crimea, Dagestan, North Ossetia-Alania, Kabardino-Balkaria, as well as the Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories. The resumption and increase in production of the domestic almond kernel is possible on the basis of the creation of new varieties with higher commercial and biological characteristics. The work is aimed at studying the diversity of varieties and samples of ordinary almonds (26 genotypes) from the gene pool of the Krymsk Experimental Breeding Station (EBS), VIR Branch, represented by more than 120 accessions introduced from countries near and far abroad. The studies were conducted at the Krymsk EBS, VIR Branch, located in the Piedmont zone of the Western subzone of the Krasnodar Territory. Varieties, elites specimens introduced from natural landscapes, 2009 planting, grafted on clonal rootstocks, grow on a dry forest, the layout is 4 × 1 m. Experimental data are presented on the quality of almond seed: weight and seed yield, shell strength, the presence of double and defective seeds in the bone, the palatability of the seed, oil content and the fatty acid composition of the raw almond seed cheese. Sources of the most important economically and biologically significant traits were identified, including complex ones: Tuono, Monterey, Karmeil, elites 1–18–2, 2–40, Kalmykova almond seedling 1–1 with a seed weight of 1 g or more and a seed yield of more than 40 % of bone mass; high palatability — elite — 1–18–2, seedling of almond Kalmykova 1–1; high oil content in the seed — elite 13–37; valuable fatty acid composition (by the content of unsaturated fatty acids) — variety Victoria, elites 1–18–2, 2–40, Kolod 8–1. These genotypes are recommended to be involved in targeted breeding programs on the quality of almond seeds. For production testing and subsequent inclusion in the Register of breeding achievements approved for use in the North Caucasus region, varieties are proposed: Vynoslivyi and Stepnoy, breeds of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden — National Science Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.