EFFECT OF CANOPY ORIENTATION ON FLOWERING TIME AND FRUIT SET IN LOQUAT

This study was conducted in a loquat orchard located at the Dortyol Experimental Station of Mustafa Kemal University, Antakya, Turkey. The experimental orchard was established in 1997 with one-year-old plants grafted on seedling rootstocks. The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of canopy orientation (North, East, South, and West) on flowering time and fruit set of various loquat cultivars. In the study, one local (‘Hafif Çukurgöbek’) and six foreign loquat cultivars (‘Golden Nugget’, ‘Sayda’, ‘Lapta-B2’, ‘Baduna-5’, ‘Ottowianni’, and ‘Şampiyon’) were evaluated. The phenological traits such as beginning, full and end of blossoming as well as percentage of fruit set of each cultivar were recorded in each of the four sides of the canopy. To determine flowering and fruit set, bud, flower and fruit numbers were counted on four branches per tree in each of the four canopy sides. In each of the selected branch, approximately 100-150 apical floriferous buds were selected at the pre-blossom phase and all phenological observations were carried out. Percentage of final fruit set was determined during the maturation period. Significant differences were found among cultivars for all the traits considered. In addition, blossoming and fruit set percentages were significantly affected by canopy orientation, with the highest rates of blossoming and fruit set being from the south side of the canopy.