THE ROOT SYSTEM OF 'St. JULIEN INRA GF 655/2' AS A PEACH ROOTSTOCK

Root systems of some trees of 'St. Julien INRA GF 655/2' grafted to 'Early Sungrand' nectarine, nine years old, in a high density planting system were isolated with the skeleton method in a shallow well drained soil of the Verona area. The trees, planted 4.00 x 2.00 m (1 250 trees/ha), were trained to free spindles; the soil was grass-mulched between the rows and kept free of weeds along the rows with paraquat. The orchard was irrigated by overhead sprinklers.

The examined root system of 'St. Julien INRA GF 655/2' had a superficial development caused by the soil conditions (very shallow layer of fertile soil - 45 ÷ 55 cm - on a very thick layer of gravel).

The most important finding is that each root system remains completely separated from the other.