Yield and Quality Characteristics of Several Table Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) Cultivars in the Silifke/Mersin Ecological

Abstract

This research was conducted between 2009-2012 in Silifke, Turkey utilizing 8 different apricot cultivars, five from non-domestic origins ‘Aurora’, ‘Ninfa’, ‘Bebeco’, ‘Precoce De Tyrinthe’, ‘Priana’ and three from domestic origins ‘Alyanak’, ‘Tokaloglu’, ‘Cagataybey’. In material cultivars some phenological and pomological characters such as flowering, yield, fruit weight, fruit dimensions, flesh/seed ratio, acidity and total soluble solids concentration (TSC) were examined. In terms of fruit yield, ‘Ninfa’(21.37 kg/tree; 39.55 kg/tree; 45.81 kg/tree; 79.11kg/tree), ‘Priana’(20.97 kg/tree; 36.08 kg/tree; 44.76 kg/tree; 77.61 kg/tree) and ‘P.De Tyrinthe’(18.74 kg/ tree; 31.52 kg/tree; 38.13 kg/tree; 64.58 kg/tree) were most productive in 2009-2012 respectively; ‘Tokaloglu’, ‘Bebeco’ and ‘P.De Tyrinthe’had the largest fruit in all years. Due to their precocity and yield, 'Ninfa', 'Priana' and 'P.De Tyrinthe' were the most promising cultivars for the Silifke area.