Growth and productivity of apricot cultivars in the Belgrade area

Growth and productivity characteristics (shoot length, flower bud density, fruit set, fruit weight, yield per tree, trunk cross-sectional area and yield efficiency) were studied in 15 apricot cultivars in the Belgrade area during the period of two years (2013-2014). The cultivar ‘Hungarian Best’ was used as a control for comparison. The average length of fruiting shoots ranged from 68.8 to 84.5 cm, and the number of flower buds per 1 cm of shoot length varied from 0.40 to 1.20. Nine cultivars are characterized by higher flower bud density in comparison to the control cultivar. The average fruit set ranged from 2.4 to 36.2%. Compared to control, fruit set was significantly higher in ‘Cegledi Arany’ and ‘Roxana’, while it was lower in ‘Laycot’. The average fruit weight ranged from 39.3 to 88.9 g. Compared to control, fruit weight was significantly higher in five cultivars: ‘Sophia’, ‘Neptun’, ‘Roxana’, ‘Cegledy Arany’, and ‘Goldrich’, and it was lower in two cultivars: ‘Ninfa’ and ‘Tomcot’. The average yield per tree was the lowest in the control cultivar, ‘Hungarian Best’ (6.6 kg) and the highest in ‘Sylred’ (29.6 kg). In majority of cultivars (ten) the yield was significantly higher than in the control cultivar. The lowest vigor was recorded in ‘Neptun’, and the highest in ‘Ninfa’. All cultivars had higher cumulative yield efficiency than the control (‘Hungarian Best’ with 0.13 kg cm-2) and it ranged from 0.18 to 0.49 kg cm-2