PEAR ROOTSTOCK TRIAL: BEHAVIOR OF ‘CONFERENCE’ AND ‘DOYENNÉ DU COMICE’ ON TWO QUINCE AND FIVE OHXF SELECTIONS

The possibility of using some of the ‘Old Home’ x ‘Farmingdale’ (OHxF) clonal selections instead of the seedling rootstocks in the calcareous soils of the Ebro basin, was searched in a trial with two important varieties, ‘Conference’ and ‘Doyenné du Comice’, planted in February 1992. The most important semi-dwarfing OHxF clones, 40, 69, 87, 282 and 333 numbers, were compared with a commercial seedling (only in Conference) and two quince rootstocks: Adam’s 232 and Provence INRA BA 29. The trial was planted in a sandy – loam soil with medium to low fertility, and low risk of lime-induced chlorosis to avoid this important handicap in the performance of quince rootstocks. After nine crops (1995 – 2003) of Conference, the highest cumulative yield was obtained on OHxF 69, OHxF 40 and OHxF 87, and the lowest on Adam’s 232. Among the OHxF clones, OHxF 282 and OHxF 333 produced the lowest yield, whereas seedling and BA 29 were intermediate. The vigor on seedlings was significantly larger than on any other rootstock. All OHxF clones produced trees of similar vigor, intermediate between seedling and quince. The productivity (cumulative yield/TCSA) was higher on both quinces, intermediate on OHxF 69, OHxF 87 and OHxF 40, lower on OHxF 333 and OHxF 282, and the lowest on the seedlings. The average fruit size was better on both quinces than in any other rootstock in the period 1995 – 1997, but the average fruit size from 1998 to 2003 was different, with fruits on BA 29 and seedlings slightly larger than on the other rootstocks. After seven crops (1996 and 1998 – 2003) of Doyenné du Comice, the highest cumulative yield was on Adam’s, followed by BA 29, both significantly higher than on all the OHxF clones; OHxF 333 produced the lowest yield of the trial. The highest vigor was obtained on BA 29 and the lowest on OHxF 333, with a significant difference between them. The productivity (cumulative yield/TCSA) was higher on the quince Adam’s, intermediate on BA 29, lower on OHxF 87, OHxF 69, OHxF 40 and OHxF 282, and the lowest on OHxF 333. The best behavior of Adam’s as a rootstock for this variety is clear. In the crop of the year 2002, considered optimal for this variety, the average fruit size were similar on all rootstocks.