Phenological and Pomological Characteristics of Local Apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) Genetic Resources of Siirt Region

Abstract

This research was carried out on local apple varieties (Malus domestica Borkh.) that are grown in Şirvan, Pervari, Eruh districts and their villages in Siirt province. Fruit samples were taken between 2014-2015 from 21 different trees that are qualified, have high value in the market and preferred by local people. Phenological observations were recorded on selected trees and pomological properties were investigated on collected fruit samples. The budburst, beginning of flowering, flowering time, number of days from full bloom to harvest (FBD) and harvest date are recorded as phenological observations. According to the results, the budburst was between March 28th and May 3rd , the date of first flowering was between April 2nd and May 10th , the full of bloom was between April 9th and May 17th ,the end of flowering was between April 14th and May 23rd , the harvest date was between 11th of August and14th of October, and the number of days from full bloom to harvest (FBD) was between 113 and 149 days. According to phenological observations, fruit weight was between 20,45 and 73,42 g, fruit sizes were between 32,73 and 60,10 mm, fruit diameters were between 36,27 and 60,32 mm, fruit stalk length was between 4,23 and 26,16 mm, fruit stalk thickness was between 1,96 and 2,61 mm, the amount of soluble solids of fruits was between %6,032 and 13,24, the amount of titratable acid was between %0,85 and 6,10, the juice pH was between 3,13 and 5,37. In addition to above parameters, fruit peel color, fruit flesh color, fruit grittiness and taste were also determined.