DETERMINATION OF SOME VEGETATIVE AND BLOOM CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME LOCAL APRICOTS IN AZARBAIJAN (IRAN) ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS

This study was carried out in three different ecological conditions (Marand, Shabestar and Azarshahr) between 1994-2003. The aim of this study was to evaluate the climatic adaptation of five local commercial apricot cultivars (‘Nasiri’, ‘Ordobad’, ‘Doroshte-M’, ‘Ghorbane-M’ and ‘Ghermeze-Sh’) selected from different regions of Iran. In this experiment some vegetative and bloom characteristics, such as time of flowering, effective pollination period (EPP), precocity, productivity, pollen germination, fruit quality, tree vigour, fruit set and time of ripening, were measured. The results indicate that pomological and vegetative characteristics were different in various climatic conditions. For example, time of flowering was different among all cultivars in the three regions, but by <10 days. Fruit set and average productivity were high for ‘Nasiri’ and ‘Ordobad’ in the Marand region, but in other areas they were low because of short ovule longevity and EPP, low activity of pollinators and unfavourable conditions during bloom time. Therefore, climatic adaptation must be studied before cultivars can be recommended for planting in new ecological conditions.