Yield and Fruit Weight of Japanese Plum ( Prunus SalicinaLindl.) Cultivars in Turkey

Abstract

A Japanese plum cultivar trial ( Prunus salicinaLindl.) was conducted in Turkey from 2004 to 2007 to identify the cultivars that perform best in the dry Mediterranean climate of the Mut-Mersin area. ‘Black Beauty’, ‘Fortune’, ‘President’, ‘Angeleno’, ‘T.C Sun’, ‘Globe Sun’, ‘Autumn Giant’, ‘Obilnaja’, ‘Bella Di Barbiano’, ‘October Sun’, ‘Queen Rosa’, ‘Black Amber’, ‘Black Diamond’ and ‘Original Sun’ all, on Myrobalan rootstock, were arranged in a randomized complete block design with six replicate trees per cultivar. Flowering periods, harvest date, yield and fruit weight were determined. Cumulative yield ranged from 16 kg·tree (‘Original Sun’) to 74 kg·tree (‘Black Beauty’). ‘Black Beauty’, ‘Obilnaja’ and ‘Queen Rosa’ were the most productive and yield efficient, and ‘Original Sun’ and ‘Bella Di Barbiano’ were the least productive cultivars. ‘Black Diamond’, ‘Queen Rosa’, ‘October Sun’ and ‘Autumn Giant’ had the largest fruit and ‘Obilnaja’ and ‘Original Sun’ had the smallest. Date of full bloom ranged from 15 March for ‘Black Beauty’ to 4 April for ‘T.C Sun’. ‘Black Beauty’, ‘Obilnaja’ ‘Queen Rosa’ ‘Black Diamond’, ‘October Sun’ and ‘Autumn Giant’ cultivars were the best for the Mut-Mersin area.