106(4)_str45

ISSN 1392-3196 / e-ISSN 2335-8947
Zemdirbyste-Agriculture, vol. 106, No. 4 (2019), p. 351–358
DOI 10.13080/z-a.2019.106.045

Yielding and fruit quality of several cultivars and breeding clones of Amelanchier alnifolia grown in north-eastern Poland

Anna BIENIEK, Bogumił MARKUSZEWSKI, Jan KOPYTOWSKI, Stanisław PLUTA,
Jarosław MARKOWSKI

Abstract

This study was aimed at evaluating fruit yield and fruit quality of five Polish selective clones (S, H, N, 2/1 and 3/1) and three Canadian cultivars (‘Smoky’, ‘Martin’ and ‘Pembina’) of Saskatoon berry (Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt.) cultivated under the conditions of north-eastern Poland. The mean yield per shrub as well as the mean 100 fruit weight and fruit number per bunch was determined in the years 2010–2017. The contents of sugars, anthocyanins and polyphenols were examined by the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Macroelements in fruits were determined after digestion by wet mineralization (H2S4) using oxidant hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The analysis of experimental data showed that the mean yields of the analysed cultivars and clones of Saskatoon berry in the first seven years of their fruiting reached 1.33 kg per shrub, which gave a yield of 5.5 t ha-1. The statistical analysis of results showed significant differences between the tested genotypes. The highest yields were reported for the Polish clones S and 3/1, whereas the lowest ones – for the clone N. The clone S belonged to one of the groups with the lowest values of 100 fruit weight and fruit number per bunch, whereas the clone 3/1 was characterized by later fruit ripening and by a higher fruit weight and number per bunch. Considering the contents of chemical components in fruits, the clone S had the highest active acidity, dry matter and sorbitol contents, but the lowest content of anthocyanins. In turn, fruits of the clone 3/1 were the richest in magnesium (Mg). Among the three Canadian cultivars analysed in our study, the highest yields were recorded for the ‘Martin’, whose fruits were the largest and had the highest content of anthocyanins. The lowest fruit yield was determined for the cultivar ‘Smoky’, but its fruits were the richest in total polyphenols.

Key words: chemical composition, mineral elements, Saskatoon berry, yielding.

Full text: 106_4_str45.pdf