Effect of self, open and cross pollination on fruit set of three apple cultivars in south Jordan

Alaa Al-Joumayly and Saed J. Owais

Bull. Fac. Agric., Cairo Univ. , 2010

Abstract:

Pollination and fruit set were investigated in three apple cultivar; namely, Ice, Adena and Red Top, at south Jordan during 2007 and 2008 seasons. The results of the investigation indicated that the three apple cultivars are self-incompatible. Open pollination was very effective in improving the fruit set in the three cultivars. Cross-pollination of the three tested cultivars with Golden Delicious pollen grains also improved the fruit set compared to self- pollination. These results suggest that many (3-4) apple cultivars should be planted in any orchard in order to obtain acceptable commercial productivity. Bloom time overlapping between cultivars is required to ensure the cross pollination between cultivars. This study showed that there is no relationship between type of pollination or pollen grain and physical and chemical fruit characteristics.

Key words: Apple, hand pollination, cross-pollination