Comparison of growth of maiden trees of cultivars and genotypes of Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) in a nursery
¹Institute of Horticultural Production, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Głęboka 28, PL20-612 Lublin, Poland
²Institute of Horticulture NAAS, Sadova 23, Novosilky, UA03027 Kyiv-27, Ukraine
*Correspondence: tomasz.lipa@up.lublin
Abstract:
Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) is still not a very popular fruit plant in Poland. Fruit growers have been recently increasingly interested in the cultivation of plants with fruits that can be widely used in processing. Fruits of Cornelian cherry can be eaten raw, and processed in various ways: for tinctures, juices, jams, silage, candied, etc. Both the fruits and preserves are characterised by high pro-health properties due to the content of vitamins, anthocyanins, and loganic acid. Cornus mas adapts well to the climate and soil conditions in Poland. The only limitation of its broader cultivation is lack of good planting material. The experiment investigated the efficiency of budding on two-year-old seedlings (Cornus mas L.) of several cultivars and genotypes of Cornelian cherry. Moreover, the height of plants, stem diameter, average number of shoots, number of leaves on selected shoots, and quality of roots were determined. The cornelian cherry maidens obtained by budding with dormant bud in August on two-year-old seedlings of Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) constitutes high quality material suitable for establishing commercial plantations. Maiden trees of particular cultivars and genotypes of cornelian cherry significantly differ in height, diameter, number of branches and leaves, as well as the size of the root system. The diameter of the trunk is a good indicator of the quality of Cornelian cherry maiden, because it is closely positively correlated with the height of plants and the number of shoots.
Key words:
growth correlations, quality of cornelian cherry maiden trees, stem diameter, T -budding