Studies on dormancy breaking in peaches under two different ecological conditions

Dormancy breaking of vegetative buds was investigated in 'Fairtime' and 'Flavorcrest' peach cultivars under two different ecological conditions, in Adana (subtropical) and Pozanti (temperate). Cuttings were taken monthly from September 1997 to February 1998 for vegetative bud break to determine the entering and exiting of dormancy. At Pozanti, dormancy was broken by the end of December in Fairtime. Budbreak started in the base of the shoots and continued towards the apex. While in Flavorcrest, only basal budbreak occurred in December, and medium to apical buds until January. In Adana, Fairtime did not receive enough chilling, and a delayed bud break was observed in apical and median buds by February. In Flavorcrest, apical and median bud break was registered 6 to 10 days later, and basal buds in both cultivars did not open. 'Flavorcrest' and 'Fairtime' reached 100 % bud break in February in Pozanti, but their chilling requirement was not satisfied at Adana