Adaptation Of Cultivars Research Articles

Patterns of domestication in the Ethiopian oil-seed crop noug (Guizotia abyssinica).

Noug (Guizotia abyssinica) is a semidomesticated oil-seed crop, which is primarily cultivated in Ethiopia. Unlike its closest crop relative, sunflower, noug has small seeds, small flowering heads, many branches, many flowering heads, and indeterminate flowering, and it shatters in the field. Here, we conducted common garden studies and microsatellite analyses of genetic variation to test whether high levels of crop–wild gene flow and/or unfavorable phenotypic correlations have hindered noug domestication. With the exception of one population, analyses of microsatellite variation failed to detect substantial recent admixture between noug and its wild progenitor. Likewise, only very weak correlations were found between seed mass and the number or size of flowering heads. Thus, noug's ‘atypical’ domestication syndrome does not seem to be a consequence of recent introgression or unfavorable phenotypic correlations. Nonetheless, our data do reveal evidence of local adaptation of noug cultivars to different precipitation regimes, as well as high levels of phenotypic plasticity, which may permit reasonable yields under diverse environmental conditions. Why noug has not been fully domesticated remains a mystery, but perhaps early farmers selected for resilience to episodic drought or untended environments rather than larger seeds. Domestication may also have been slowed by noug's outcrossing mating system.

FGGE method: description and application in data from maize cultivars

The objective of this study was to propose a methodology using a factor analysis associated with genotypic and genotype × environment interaction effects (FGGE) and to accomplish, simultaneously, analyses of environmental stratification and the adaptability of maize cultivars indicated for planting in Parana State. The analysis of adaptability based on the factor analysis was accomplished graphically by scoring in relation to the factors with separation in the adaptability quadrants. The analysis of environmental stratification were accomplished beginning with the magnitude of the final factor loadings obtained after rotations through the varimax method. The FGGE method is efficient for processing the environmental stratification and adaptability analysis. More than 70 % of the retained variation in the first eigenvalues represents the expressive part of the sum of the genotypic and genotype × environment interaction (G × E) interaction effects for this data set. The cultivars with wide adaptation and high yield in the group of the tested environments were P30F35, P30F53, P30K64, P30R50 and AS 1570.

Adaptability of High-Yielding Rice Cultivars in Relation to Biomass Productivity under Moderately Water Stressed Upland Conditions

Recent studies have focused on the improvement of rice productivity under aerobic conditions for times when water resources and food production are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the adaptability of high-yielding rice cultivars to moderately water-stressed upland conditions in order to contribute breeding. A three-year field experiment in the temperate climate of Kyoto, Japan, indicated that the decrease in yield was mainly derived from a decrease in above-ground total dry matter (TDM) rather than a decrease in harvest index (HI). Although the decrease in TDM was mostly caused by a decrease in radiation use efficiency (RUE), we determined that the key to adapting high-yielding cultivars to upland conditions is intercepted radiation per day (IRPD), governed by leaf area index (LAI). Although the effect was not robust, LAI growth under upland conditions was associated with root length density. RUE was dependent on leaf water potential (LWP), indicating that a plant’s ability to maintain LWP under water-stressed conditions is important. The results also suggest the necessity of a canopy analyzer to evaluate LAI, as well as an infrared radiation thermometer to evaluate RUE. Performing such measurements during breeding efforts allows us to select for genotypes that are suitable for less stressed aerobic conditions.

Adaptability of soybean cultivars in different crop years.

Soybean is one of the main sources of foreign exchange credits for Brazil in the agricultural sector. There is increasing interest in growing this leguminous crop, especially in the southern region of Minas Gerais, due to its importance as an alternative for crop rotation with maize. In this respect, the study of the adaptability of new cultivars to the region is indispensable so as to obtain high yields. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of 38 soybean cultivars for growing in the summer season in the municipality of Lavras, MG, Brazil, in the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 crop years. The experiments were conducted in a randomized block design with 3 replications and the treatments consisted of 38 cultivars. At the time of harvest, the following assessments were made: grain yield (kg/ha), height of the lowest pod (cm), plant height (cm), and lodging. The data were subjected to individual and combined analysis of variance. The phenotypic mean values were clustered, adopting the Scott and Knott test. For simultaneous selection of multiple traits, the sum of rank index of Mulamba and Mock was adopted. The cultivar TMG 801 RR had the best yield performance; the cultivars Monsoy 8001, MGBR-46 (Conquista), and BRSMG 68 (Vencedora) also stood out. Considering simultaneous selection for grain yield, plant height, height of the lowest pod, and lodging, the cultivar TMG 801 RR is recommended for growing in the summer season in the southern region of Minas Gerais.

BEHAVIOUR OF SOME NEW APRICOT CULTIVARS UNDER THE PARALLEL TRIDENT PLANTING SYSTEM

A study was established on the Eastern part of the Romanian plain on loam-sandy soil, to determine the adaptation of some new apricot cultivars grafted on two rootstocks. Apricot trees were produced by micro-grafting scion material ex vitro on micro-propagated rootstocks, in February and grown in 4 litre pots in Italy at Vitroplant Italia. The six scion cultivars: ‘Flavorcot’, ‘Sweetcot’ and ‘Tomcot’, grafted on Ishtara and ‘Farbaly’, ‘Farfia’ and ‘Farhial’ grafted on Mirobolan 29 C, were planted July 2009 at 4.0 x 2.0 m. Trees were trained to a four-wire-trellis fixed to concrete poles. The orchard was protected against hail with a black net. In the second year after planting, three shoots per tree were chosen as leaders and trained vertically to form the axes of a parallel trident canopy. By winter and summer pruning, the strong lateral shoots, were eliminated. The inter-row was naturally covered with a mixture of perennial grasses and mowed mechanically. Tree growth was reported as trunk and axes cross sectional area, number and shoots length per tree, typology of the fruit branches, etc. The highest values of the TCSA were recorded on cultivar ‘Farfia’, grafted on Mirobolan 29 C (30.5 cm2) and ‘Sweetcot’, grafted on Ishtara (25.8 cm2) and the lowest (20.1 cm2) on ‘Farbaly’ and ‘Farhial’, both grafted on Mirobolan 29 C. Additionally, data was collected on fruit number, fruit size and yield per tree. The highest yield per tree in the third leaf was produced by ‘Farfia’ (15.0 kg). Three productivity indexes were compared. Ishtara seams to influence positively the fruit size. The biggest fruit were recorded on ‘Flavorcot’ with a mean of 107.1 g. While the planting is still young, the parallel trident system shows promise regarding ease of management, sustainability and efficiency for the new apricot cultivars introduced in Romania.

GGE biplot based assessment of yield stability, adaptability and mega-environment characterization for hybrid pigeonpea (<i>Cajanus cajan</i>)

GGE biplot methodology is a powerful tool to study relationship among test environments (E), genotypes (G) and genotype-by-environment interaction (GE). Present study was conducted on 10 short-duration genotypes in five test environments for two years, and 16 medium-duration genotypes in six test locations for three years in randomized complete block design with two replications. In short-maturity group three mega-environments (ME) were found—ME1 comprised of Phaltan, Patancheru and Hyderabad1; ME2 and 3 constituted Jalna and Aurangabad, respectively. In scenario of limited resources, Patancheru may be a good testing location for general adaptability of short-duration hybrids, while Aurangabad and Hyderabad1 may be right environments for testing specific adaptation of short-duration cultivars in pigeonpea. ICPH 2433 was a winning genotype in ME1 in terms of high yield and stability. In medium-maturity group, two MEs were observed. Jalna, Jalna 1, Parbhani and Hyderabad grouped together as ME1, while Patancheru and Phaltan formed the second mega-environment (ME2). Parbhani was found to be most representative of all the six test locations. Jalna (ME1) and Phaltan (ME2) produced longest environment vectors, and hence may be regarded as highly discriminating. In medium- maturity group ICPH 2673 was found to be stable and high-yielding genotype for ME1.

Adaptabilidade e estabilidade de genótipos de café no cultivo orgânico em Minas Gerais

Este trabalho teve como objetivo comparar a adaptabilidade e estabilidade de cultivares de café quanto à média de produtividade anual e de biênios, pelo método de EBERHART & RUSSEL (1996), e selecionar cultivares de café para o cultivo orgânico em Minas Gerais. Os experimentos foram conduzidos em três locais, em delineamento de blocos casualizados com trinta genótipos e três repetições. Uma análise se baseou na produtividade média anual de quatro colheitas (2005/2006, 2006/2007, 2007/2008 e 2008/2009) com o total de doze ambientes. A outra análise considerou a média de dois biênios (2005/2006 e 2006/2007; 2007/2008 e 2008/2009) com o total de seis ambientes. A análise em que se considerou a média da produtividade do biênio apresentou redução expressiva do coeficiente de variação ambiental. Por isso, foi possível identificar mais cultivares com adaptabilidade e estabilidade para o cultivo orgânico. Conclui-se que a análise de adaptabilidade e estabilidade com base na produtividade de biênio é mais segura para a seleção de cultivares. Considerando essa premissa, as cultivares 'Catucaí Vermelho 36/6', 'Catuaí Vermelho IAC 15' e 'Siriema 842' são indicadas somente para os ambientes favoráveis. As cultivares 'Sabiá 708', 'IBC Palma 1', 'Catucaí Amarelo 24/137', 'Oeiras MG 6851' e as linhagens H518 e H514 são indicadas para o cultivo orgânico em locais com ambientes similares aos avaliados em Minas Gerais.

Sustainable Agriculture for Alaska and the Circumpolar North: Part II. Environmental, Geophysical, Biological and Socioeconomic Challenges

Local agriculture, food security and food supply are limited in Alaska, as well as in much of the circumpolar North. These limitations stem from a suite of challenges that have never been well characterized, categorized, or wholly defined. We identify these challenges as being environmental, geophysical, biological, or socioeconomic in nature, noting that some challenges are interrelated. Additionally, Alaska is expansive, and growing conditions are highly variable across different regions and microclimates of the state. Environmental challenges to Alaskan agriculture are generally linked to high latitude and include strong seasonality, a short growing season, cold temperatures, and unpredictable frosts. Geophysical challenges are characterized by a high percentage of soils that are wet and cold or low in natural fertility. Biological challenges include cultivar adaptability and selection; the control of various pests, weeds, and diseases; and decreased microbial activity in cold soils, which can allow pesticides to linger and slow mineralization of organic fertilizers. Socioeconomic challenges to farming in Alaska are especially limiting and may categorically represent the strongest hindrances to agriculture. They often overlap or interact with many of the identified agro-ecological and biogeographic challenges. Major socioeconomic issues can be a relatively low financial incentive or reward for farmers; inconsistent or limited markets; the high cost of land, infrastructure, and inputs; zoning challenges; a lack of cooperatives; and for rural farmers, time conflicts with more traditional means of subsistence food acquisition. These challenges collectively represent factors that limit agriculture in Alaska, and they provide a basis and justification for developing more sustainable solutions. agriculture; Alaska; challenges; climate; circumpolar; farming; soils; subarctic; sustainable; socioeconomic

Genetic diversity for nitrogen use efficiency in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) cultivars using the Ingestad model on hydroponics

Spinach is a leafy vegetable that requires a high N fertilization to have a satisfactory yield and quality, in part because it has poor nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). Therefore, there is a need to breed for cultivars with an excellent NUE. To this end the genetic diversity for NUE-related traits was studied in a diverse set of commercial cultivars. This set was evaluated in a hydroponic system using the Ingestad model; the system was set at a relative growth rate of 0.14 and 0.18 g g−1 day−1 (low and high N, respectively). Experiments were performed at low and high plant density. Traits monitored for single plants included fresh and dry weight, leaf area, specific leaf area, dry weight ratio between root and shoot, and chlorophyll content. The high density experiment showed more genotypic variation for the observed traits than the low density one. Biomass production was considerably lower at low than at high N. Path analysis revealed that leaf area had the highest direct effect on NUE, while specific leaf area was an important trait determining variation in NUE at low N. Slow and fast growing genotypes were shown to use different strategies to utilize N, and these strategies are expressed differently at high and low N availability. This indicates that improving spinach for NUE is feasible using the analysed genotypes as source material, and different strategies can be targeted for adaptation of spinach cultivars to low N conditions.

Breeding Oil and Table Olives for Mechanical Harvesting in Spain

The olive (Olea europaea) and table olive industries worldwide are almost entirely supported by low-density rain-fed orchards planted with local cultivars empirically selected by farmers for centuries. New early and high-bearing plantation systems adapted to mechanical harvesting have been designed and developed during the past 50 years. Only certain traditional cultivars are well suited for these new olive plantations. The new orchards therefore require new cultivars. A long-term effort on the exploration, conservation, and sustainable use of olive genetic resources starting in Spain in 1970 has been followed by breeding programs developed since the early 1990s by the University of Cordoba, the University of Seville, and the Andalusia Institute for Agricultural, Food and Fisheries Research. We are trying to use crossbreeding to obtain new early bearing cultivars adapted to mechanically harvested orchards. Objectives related to shortening the juvenile period (JP) and developing early tests of selection, early bearing, high cropping, resistance to chief diseases (particularly verticillium wilt caused by Verticillium dahliae), industrial suitability, high oil content, diversity of olive oil composition for oil cultivars, and fruit size and quality for table olive are being pursued. Specific criteria for the adaptation of oil olive and table olive cultivars to mechanical harvesting, such as low-vigor trees with a compact growth habit, the force needed for fruit removal, natural fruit abscission, resistance to bruising, and extending the harvest time in cultivars showing homogeneous ripening are evaluated in the progenies. To date, more than 19,000 seedlings have been initially evaluated, 481 preselections are on intermediate field trials, and 31 advanced selections are being established in a network of field trials. A new protected cultivar Sikitita (Chiquitita in the United States), selected for very-high-density narrow hedgerows, was released in 2008. Recently, a first project on olive genomics is heralding the use of marker-assisted selection in the midterm phase of development. Cultivars adapted to the new mechanical harvest systems will be progressively released in the future.

Allelic variations at four major maturity E genes and transcriptional abundance of the E1 gene are associated with flowering time and maturity of soybean cultivars.

The time to flowering and maturity are ecologically and agronomically important traits for soybean landrace and cultivar adaptation. As a typical short-day crop, long day conditions in the high-latitude regions require soybean cultivars with photoperiod insensitivity that can mature before frost. Although the molecular basis of four major E loci (E1 to E4) have been deciphered, it is not quite clear whether, or to what degree, genetic variation and the expression level of the four E genes are associated with the time to flowering and maturity of soybean cultivars. In this study, we genotyped 180 cultivars at E1 to E4 genes, meanwhile, the time to flowering and maturity of those cultivars were investigated at six geographic locations in China from 2011 to 2012 and further confirmed in 2013. The percentages of recessive alleles at E1, E2, E3 and E4 loci were 38.34%, 84.45%, 36.33%, and 7.20%, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that allelic variations at each of four loci had a significant effect on flowering time as well as maturity. We classified the 180 cultivars into eight genotypic groups based on allelic variations of the four major E loci. The genetic group of e1-nf representing dysfunctional alleles at the E1 locus flowered earliest in all the geographic locations. In contrast, cultivars in the E1E2E3E4 group originated from the southern areas flowered very late or did not flower before frost at high latitude locations. The transcriptional abundance of functional E1 gene was significantly associated with flowering time. However, the ranges of time to flowering and maturity were quite large within some genotypic groups, implying the presence of some other unknown genetic factors that are involved in control of flowering time or maturity. Known genes (e.g. E3 and E4) and other unknown factors may function, at least partially, through regulation of the expression of the E1 gene.

Use of AMMI and other stability statistics in the simultaneous selection of rice genotypes for yield and stability under direct-seeded conditions

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important cereal crops in the world. India is one of the largest rice-producing countries. Although more than 900 rice varieties have been released in India, many of them are no longer cultivated within a few years of release due to inconsistent performance in diverse environments; only a few varieties with stable performance continue to be under cultivation after 15 to 20 yr of their release. Development and adaptability of rice cultivars in a wide range of target environments are the eventual goals of plant breeders. An attempt has been made to estimate the level of genotype-environment interaction (GEI) and eliminate as much as possible the unexplainable and extraneous variability contained in the data. Therefore, several statistical techniques have been used to describe GEI and measure genotype stability. Field experiments were conducted with 12 genotypes under direct-seeded conditions (irrigated and rainfed) for three consecutive years (2009 to 2012) in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The GEI was analyzed using additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI). Results of AMMI analysis indicated that the first three AMMI (AMMI1 to AMMI3) were highly significant (P < 0.05). The partitioning of TSS (total sum of squares) exhibited that the genotype effect was a predominant source of variation followed by GEI and environment, which suggests the possible existence of different environment groups. The AMMI stability value discriminated genotypes 11 and 12 as stable genotypes based on the yield stability index (YSI) and sustainability index (SI).

Identification and quantification of phenolic compounds in diverse cultivars of eggplant grown in different seasons by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detector and electrospray-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry

Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is an important vegetable for its richness in healthy components such as phenolic compounds. As environmental conditions and growing techniques may influence the phenolic content in plants, this study was focused on characterizing and quantifying of phenolic compounds, by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detector and electrospray-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry (HPLC–DAD–ESI-TOF-MS), in three eggplant cultivars grown in different seasons. A total of 25 compounds were identified and quantified by the optimized methodology. To our knowledge, of these compounds, 14 have been reported for the first time in eggplant, 9 of which have been found for the first time in Solanaceae family. Two of the major compounds were chlorogenic acid and delphinidin rutinoside in all eggplant cultivars studied; furthermore, most of the phenolic compounds showed significant differences according to the cultivar and the harvest season. Besides, phenolic compounds of two of the cultivars sharply decreased from spring to summer. These results showed that phenolic compounds concentration depends on the cultivar adaptation to abiotic variation. Indeed, it was seen that cultivar and harvest season have a marked influence on polyphenols in eggplant which could be due mainly to climatic factors such as the high increase of temperatures in the summer season, in the region of Andalusia. This information may be important for the agricultural sector because it can help to know the suitable period for harvesting eggplants with high content in phenolic compounds.

Growth and Flowering of Five Mango Cultivar under Subtropics Conditions of Brazil

The evaluation of the new cultivars adaptation and yield potential of Mangifera indica L. provides tools to assist and improve the mango production in different climates conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the phenological and reproductive development of five mango cultivars (Bourbon, Haden, Palmer, Parwin and Tommy Atkins), on climate conditions in dry land and four production cycles (from 08/2007 to 01/2011), at S?o Manuel, S?o Paulo state, Brazil. The variables were total plant height, trunk height, stem diameter and the first insertion diameter, fruits physical characteristics, yield and harvest period, flowering seasonality and morphological characterization of the inflorescences. It was found that the four-year-old plants of Haden cv. reach 4.0 m high and 0.20 m of trunk diameter. Bourbon cultivar had the highest flowering period, from April to October. Tommy Atkins cv. had productivities of 14779.07 kg·ha-1 in the fourth cycle and the productivity of Bourbon, Haden and Palmer cultivars was alternated.

Giving drought the cold shoulder: a relationship between drought tolerance and fall dormancy in an agriculturally important crop.

The growth of fall dormant/freezing tolerant plants often surpasses the growth of non-fall dormant/non-freezing tolerant types of the same species under water-limited conditions, while under irrigated conditions non-fall dormant types exhibit superior yield performance. To investigate the mechanism behind this phenomenon, we exposed seven diverse alfalfa (Medicago sativa) cultivars to water-limited and fully watered conditions and measured their shoot growth, shoot water potential and gas exchange parameters and the relative abundance of taproot RNA transcripts associated with chilling stress/freezing tolerance. Fall dormant cultivars had greater shoot growth relative to the fully watered controls under a mild water deficit (a cumulative water deficit of 625 mL pot(-1)) and did not close their stomata until lower shoot water potentials compared with the more non-fall dormant cultivars. Several gene transcripts previously associated with freezing tolerance increased in abundance when plants were exposed to a mild water deficit. Two transcripts, corF (encodes galactinol synthase) and cas18 (encodes a dehydrin-like protein), increased in abundance in fall dormant cultivars only. Once water deficit stress became severe (a cumulative water deficit of 2530 mL pot(-1)), the difference between fall dormancy groups disappeared with the exception of the expression of a type 1 sucrose synthase gene, which decreased in fall dormant cultivars. The specific adaptation of fall dormant cultivars to mild water deficit conditions and the increase in abundance of specific genes typically associated with freezing tolerance in these cultivars is further evidence of a link between freezing tolerance/fall dormancy and adaption to drought conditions in this species.

Field experiments and simulation to evaluate rice cultivar adaptation to elevated carbon dioxide and temperature in sub-tropical India

Location specific adaptation option is required to minimize adverse impact of climate change on rice production. In the present investigation, we calibrated genotype coefficients of four cultivars in the CERES-Rice model for simulation of rice yield under elevated CO2 environment and evaluation of the cultivar adaptation in subtropical India. The four cultivars (IR 36, Swarna, Swarn sub1, and Badshabhog) were grown in open field and in Open Top Chamber (OTC) of ambient CO2 (≈390ppm) and elevated CO2 environment (25% higher than the ambient) during wet season (June–November) of the years 2011 and 2012 at Kharagpur, India. The genotype coefficients; P1 (basic vegetative phase), P2R (photoperiod sensitivity) and P5 (grain filling phase) were higher, but G1 (potential spikelet number) was lower under the elevated CO2 environment as compared to their open field value in all the four cultivars. Use of the calibrated model of elevated CO2 environment simulated the changes in grain yield of −13%, −17%, −4%, and +7% for the cultivars IR 36, Swarna, Swarna sub1, and Badshabhog, respectively, with increasing CO2 level of 100ppm and rising temperature of 1°C as compared to the ambient CO2 level and temperature and they were comparable with observed yield changes from the OTC experiment. Potential impacts of climate change were simulated for climate change scenarios developed from HadCM3 global climate model under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emission Scenarios (A2 and B2) for the years 2020, 2050, and 2080. Use of the future climate data simulated a continuous decline in rice grain yield from present years to the years 2020, 2050 and 2080 for the cultivars IR 36 and Swarna in A2 as well as B2 scenario with rising temperature of ≥0.8°C. Whereas, the cultivar Swarna sub1 was least affected and Badshabhog was favoured under elevated CO2 with rising temperature up to 2°C in the sub-tropical climate of India.

Anther meiosis time is related to winter cold temperatures in apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.)

In temperate woody plants, flowering time is adjusted to the environmental temperature, and survival to cold winter temperatures is achieved through dormancy. But also chilling temperatures during dormancy are required for proper flower bud development and flowering. The time the flower bud remains dormant is both genetically and environmentally controlled, and is a major factor determining the adaptation of species and cultivars to particular ecological conditions because chilling requirements vary greatly among genotypes. Recently this adaptation is jeopardised with climate changing conditions. However, little is known on the biological milestones underpinning these events, and when differences in flowering time are established. In this work we evaluate the hypothesis that anther meiosis time is related to winter cold temperatures, and that differences in flowering time are set up by differences in the time when pollen meiosis occurs. For this purpose, anther development has been characterised in five apricot cultivars with different chilling requirements. The work was done over two years with different weather conditions, a cold and a mild winter. The sporogenous tissues differentiated prior to dormancy and remained in this apparently quiescent stage during the winter. Once chilling requirements were fulfilled, meiosis closely followed and was highly correlated to breaking of endodormancy. Meiosis was completed within one week and was followed by a change in the colour of the anthers from green to yellowish, which could be a useful visual indicator to know that breaking of endodormancy had already occurred. The fact that this sequence of events was consistent in all the cultivars, and different climatic years analysed, supports the hypothesis that winter cold temperatures are related to the time of pollen meiosis, which in turn reflects in different flowering times.

COMPARISON OF QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE YIELD OF OLIVE CULTIVARS IN NORTH OF KHUZESTAN PROVINCE, IRAN

In order to assess the adaptability of olive cultivars in Northern Khuzestan, an experiment was conducted as a complete randomized block design with 21 cultivars in three replications. Study of flowering of cultivars showed that X-S and Doebli cultivars had 20% (lowest) and 100% (highest) complete flowers, respectively. Results of analysis of variance for quantitative traits showed that cultivar had a significant effect on all studied traits (P ≤ 0.01). Results of combined analysis (2007-2009) also showed that the effect of year on fruit yield and oil yield/tree was significant (P ≤ 0.05). Considering the yield and size of trees in different cultivars, the highest fruit yield was achieved in cultivars Conservalia (7549 kgha-1), Mahzam Abu-Satl (6769 kgha-1), Kronaieki (6239 kgha-1) and X-D (4022 kgha-1) respectively. Cultivar X-S had the highest and Valanolia had the lowest oil content /fresh weight (18.1 and 3.1%, respectively). Based on yield, oil content and size of trees, the highest oil yield /ha was achieved in Conservalia (723 kgha-1), X-D (404 kgha-1), Amigdafolia (396 kgha-1) and X-S (373 kgha-1) respectively. Based these results, Conservalia could be suggested as a double purpose cultivar in commercial olive orchards in Khuzestan due to its high yield and good conserving quality.

Performance of Blackcurrant Cultivars Bred at I. V. Michurin All-Russia Research Institute for Horticulture

The breeding of blackcurrants in I. V. Michurin All-Russia Research Institute for Horticulture (ARRIH) has a history of 55 years. Joining of high productivity and quality of fruits, technological properties and resistance to abiotic and biotic stress in new generation cultivars are the main concepts in breeding of blackcurrants today. At the beginning of the 21st century, 11 new blackcurrant cultivars were developed: ‘Charovnica’, ‘Elevesta’, ‘Malenkii Princ’, ‘Tamerlan’, ‘Chernavka’, ‘Shalun’a’, ‘Karmelita’, ‘Sensey’, ‘Divo Zvyaginoy’, and ‘Talisman’ with black coloured fruits, and ‘Izumrudnoye Ozherel’e’ with green coloured fruits. The complex evaluation of the newly released cultivars ‘Lebeduscha’, ‘Lyubava’, ‘Malenkii Princ’, ‘Talisman’, ‘Tamerlan’, ‘Charovnica’, ‘Elevesta’ was performed during 2007-2012 at I. V. Michurin ARRIH. In 2004, several cultivars from the I.V. Michurin ARRIH breeding programme, namely ‘Charovnica’, ‘Elevesta’, ‘Malenkii Princ’, ‘Tamerlan’ and ‘Talisman’, were planted in the collection of Pūre Horticultural Research Centre, Latvia, for evaluation of cultivar adaptability to local agro-meteorological conditions. The cultivars ‘Elevesta’ and ‘Talisman’ showed the best results among the tested cultivars

Influence of cultivar and harvest year on triglyceride composition of olive oils produced in Calabria (Southern Italy)

AbstractOlive oils extracted from Italian cultivars in South West Calabria, Southern Italy were analyzed for their triglyceride composition, for three successive harvest years 2005‐2006‐2007. Three autochthonous cultivars from Calabria (Cassanese, Ottobratica and Sinopolese) and seven allochtonous cultivars (Coratina, Itrana, Leccino, Nocellara Messinese, Nociara, Pendolino and Picholine) were considered. All cultivars showed a trilinolein content ≤ 0.10% of the total triglycerides, the equivalent carbon number42 (ECN42) content was always less than 0.75% of the total triglycerides. Triolein ranged from a minimum of 28.60% ± 2.12 in Nocellara Messinese to a maximum of 48.25% ± 2.67 found in Coratina. This work demonstrates the presence of significant differences (ANOVA) for the different triglyceride compounds present in these olive oils, taking into consideration the cultivar and the harvest year.Practical applications: Practical applications for the study entitled “Influence of cultivar and harvest year on triglyceride composition of olive oils produced in Calabria (Southern Italy)” regard the possibility of knowing the triglyceridic composition of olive oil produced in South West Calabria (Southern Italy) from ten cultivars, three autochtonous from Calabria: Cassanese, Ottobratica and Sinopolese and seven allochtonous cultivars: Coratina, Itrana, Leccino, Nocellara Messinese, Nociara, Pendolino and Picholine. It is very important to understand if and how cultivar and harvest year influence the triglyceridic composition. In addition, the adaptability of the allochthonous cultivars in a different geographical context can be also evaluated by comparing olive oil triglyceride data between autochthonous and allochthonous cultivars.