PHENOLOGY AND FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTOCHTHONOUS APPLE CULTIVARS

Abstract

In 2014, we evaluated the main phenological and fruit physical-chemical characteristics of apple cultivars grown in western Serbia. The ‘Idared’ cultivar had the earliest start of flowering on March 30, immediately followed by the ‘Kožara’ cultivar on March 31. The cultivars ‘Kiseljaja’, ‘Budimka’ and ‘Kolačara’ cultivars began flowering at the same time on April 3. The ‘Idared’ cultivar was the first to reach full bloom on April 4, followed by the ‘Kožara’ cultivar on April 5. The other cultivars reached full flowering 3 to 4 days after the control cultivar. The results showed significant differences between cultivars in all fruit sizes, fruit weight (g), flesh firmness (kg cm‒2), TSS (°Brix), TA (%) and RI.