Assessment of Chilling Requirement and Threshold Temperature of a Low Chill Pear (<em>Pyrus communis</em> L.) Germplasm in the Mediterranean Area
In temperate climates, bud break and shoot and flower emission of deciduous fruit tree species are regulated by precise chilling and heating requirements. To investigate this aspect, sixty-one accessions of European pear (<i>Pyrus communis</i> L.) collected in Sicily were phenotyped for...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-03-01
|
| Series: | Horticulturae |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/7/3/45 |
| _version_ | 1797413143483252736 |
|---|---|
| author | Filippo Ferlito Mario Di Guardo Maria Allegra Elisabetta Nicolosi Alberto Continella Stefano La Malfa Alessandra Gentile Gaetano Distefano |
| author_facet | Filippo Ferlito Mario Di Guardo Maria Allegra Elisabetta Nicolosi Alberto Continella Stefano La Malfa Alessandra Gentile Gaetano Distefano |
| author_sort | Filippo Ferlito |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In temperate climates, bud break and shoot and flower emission of deciduous fruit tree species are regulated by precise chilling and heating requirements. To investigate this aspect, sixty-one accessions of European pear (<i>Pyrus communis</i> L.) collected in Sicily were phenotyped for three consecutive years for harvest date, bud sprouting and blooming to determine both the chilling requirements and the threshold temperature using the Chill Days model. The whole germplasm collection was grown in two different experimental fields located at 10 and 850 m above sea level representing two Mediterranean-type climates in which pear is commonly cultivated. Results revealed a mean threshold temperature of 6.70 and 8.10 °C for the two experimental fields, respectively, with a mean chilling requirement ranging from −103 and −120 days. Through this approach, novel insights were gained on the differences in chilling requirement for early flowering cultivars to overcome dormancy. Furthermore, to better dissect differences in chilling requirement between accessions, the sprouting bud rate of six cultivars was assessed on excised twigs stored at 4 ± 0.1 °C from 300 to 900 h followed by a period at 25 ± 0.1 °C varying from seven to twenty-eight days. Results of both experiments highlighted that Sicilian pear germplasm is characterized by a low chilling requirement compared to other pear germplasm, making Sicilian local accessions valuable candidates to be used for selecting novel cultivars, coupling their low chilling requirements with other traits of agronomical interest. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:13:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b569c409bd034ea6919d95aa1c6aca8e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:13:18Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Horticulturae |
| spelling | doaj.art-b569c409bd034ea6919d95aa1c6aca8e2023-12-03T12:47:11ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242021-03-01734510.3390/horticulturae7030045Assessment of Chilling Requirement and Threshold Temperature of a Low Chill Pear (<em>Pyrus communis</em> L.) Germplasm in the Mediterranean AreaFilippo Ferlito0Mario Di Guardo1Maria Allegra2Elisabetta Nicolosi3Alberto Continella4Stefano La Malfa5Alessandra Gentile6Gaetano Distefano7CREA, Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crop, Corso Savoia, 190-95024 Acireale (CT), ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania, ItalyCREA, Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crop, Corso Savoia, 190-95024 Acireale (CT), ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania, ItalyIn temperate climates, bud break and shoot and flower emission of deciduous fruit tree species are regulated by precise chilling and heating requirements. To investigate this aspect, sixty-one accessions of European pear (<i>Pyrus communis</i> L.) collected in Sicily were phenotyped for three consecutive years for harvest date, bud sprouting and blooming to determine both the chilling requirements and the threshold temperature using the Chill Days model. The whole germplasm collection was grown in two different experimental fields located at 10 and 850 m above sea level representing two Mediterranean-type climates in which pear is commonly cultivated. Results revealed a mean threshold temperature of 6.70 and 8.10 °C for the two experimental fields, respectively, with a mean chilling requirement ranging from −103 and −120 days. Through this approach, novel insights were gained on the differences in chilling requirement for early flowering cultivars to overcome dormancy. Furthermore, to better dissect differences in chilling requirement between accessions, the sprouting bud rate of six cultivars was assessed on excised twigs stored at 4 ± 0.1 °C from 300 to 900 h followed by a period at 25 ± 0.1 °C varying from seven to twenty-eight days. Results of both experiments highlighted that Sicilian pear germplasm is characterized by a low chilling requirement compared to other pear germplasm, making Sicilian local accessions valuable candidates to be used for selecting novel cultivars, coupling their low chilling requirements with other traits of agronomical interest.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/7/3/45global warmingbud breakbud sproutingchill-day modeldormancy |
| spellingShingle | Filippo Ferlito Mario Di Guardo Maria Allegra Elisabetta Nicolosi Alberto Continella Stefano La Malfa Alessandra Gentile Gaetano Distefano Assessment of Chilling Requirement and Threshold Temperature of a Low Chill Pear (<em>Pyrus communis</em> L.) Germplasm in the Mediterranean Area Horticulturae global warming bud break bud sprouting chill-day model dormancy |
| title | Assessment of Chilling Requirement and Threshold Temperature of a Low Chill Pear (<em>Pyrus communis</em> L.) Germplasm in the Mediterranean Area |
| title_full | Assessment of Chilling Requirement and Threshold Temperature of a Low Chill Pear (<em>Pyrus communis</em> L.) Germplasm in the Mediterranean Area |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of Chilling Requirement and Threshold Temperature of a Low Chill Pear (<em>Pyrus communis</em> L.) Germplasm in the Mediterranean Area |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of Chilling Requirement and Threshold Temperature of a Low Chill Pear (<em>Pyrus communis</em> L.) Germplasm in the Mediterranean Area |
| title_short | Assessment of Chilling Requirement and Threshold Temperature of a Low Chill Pear (<em>Pyrus communis</em> L.) Germplasm in the Mediterranean Area |
| title_sort | assessment of chilling requirement and threshold temperature of a low chill pear em pyrus communis em l germplasm in the mediterranean area |
| topic | global warming bud break bud sprouting chill-day model dormancy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/7/3/45 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT filippoferlito assessmentofchillingrequirementandthresholdtemperatureofalowchillpearempyruscommunisemlgermplasminthemediterraneanarea AT mariodiguardo assessmentofchillingrequirementandthresholdtemperatureofalowchillpearempyruscommunisemlgermplasminthemediterraneanarea AT mariaallegra assessmentofchillingrequirementandthresholdtemperatureofalowchillpearempyruscommunisemlgermplasminthemediterraneanarea AT elisabettanicolosi assessmentofchillingrequirementandthresholdtemperatureofalowchillpearempyruscommunisemlgermplasminthemediterraneanarea AT albertocontinella assessmentofchillingrequirementandthresholdtemperatureofalowchillpearempyruscommunisemlgermplasminthemediterraneanarea AT stefanolamalfa assessmentofchillingrequirementandthresholdtemperatureofalowchillpearempyruscommunisemlgermplasminthemediterraneanarea AT alessandragentile assessmentofchillingrequirementandthresholdtemperatureofalowchillpearempyruscommunisemlgermplasminthemediterraneanarea AT gaetanodistefano assessmentofchillingrequirementandthresholdtemperatureofalowchillpearempyruscommunisemlgermplasminthemediterraneanarea |