Effects of Different Pollinators on Fruit Set and Quality Attributes of Texas Almond (Prunus dulcis L.) Cultivar

Abstract

There is a positive relationship between pollination and fruit yield of almonds. Since self-incompatibility is a major problem in almond cultivars, foreign pollinators are generally used in almonds to get high yield and quality. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different pollinators (inbreed hybrid combinations) on fruit set and pomological characteristics of Texas almond cultivar in 2018 - 2019 growing seasons. Fruit set ratios varied between 3.6% (Texas × A3) and 5.2% (Texas × A4) in the first year of the study and between 8.0% (Texas × A3) and 13.2% (Texas × A2) in the second year. As the average of two years, the lowest fruit length (32.03 ± 2.45 mm) was observed in Texas × A4 combination and the greatest fruit length (35.31 ± 3.05 mm) was observed in Texas × A1 combination, whereas fruit width values varied between 19.37 ± 2.43 mm and 23.79 ± 1.33 mm. Although pollinators influenced fruit mass values, the greatest value (5.73 ± 0.74 g) was observed in Texas × A3 combination. It was concluded based on present findings that use of A2 cultivar as a pollinator in almond orchards established with Texas cultivar may have positive effects on fruit set.