The effects of pollen sources and foliar application of zinc and boron on fruit set and fruit traits of three hazelnut cultivars
Summary
The productivity of plants is generally influenced by the environment, the physiology of plant species and their management, species genetics, and their interactions. The present research aimed to assess the effects of various pollen sources (‘Boliba’, ‘Gerche’, and ‘Daviana’) on physical and chemical traits of nuts in some dominant cultivars (‘Gerde-Eshkevarat’, ‘Fertile’, and ‘Segorbe’) in Iran’s hazelnut production industry. The effects of the application of micronutrients B as borax and Zn as zinc sulfate on improving the productivity of vegetative and reproductive processes, and then the interactive effect of these factors on hazelnut and kernel yield and quality were evaluated. The results showed that there was dichogamy in all studied cultivars and all cultivars were protandrous. The blooming time of male and female flowers was different among cultivars. After the nuts were harvested, nut and kernel traits were assessed. The highest weight of nuts with green husk (7.1 g) was related to ‘Fertile’ × ‘Gerche’ × borax + zinc sulfate’ and the lowest (2.9 g) to the treatment of ‘Segorbe’ × ‘Daviana’× borax + zinc’. The results indicated that the effect of the pollinizer parent was significant on hazelnut kernel and nut traits. The highest nut and kernel dimensions were obtained from ‘Fertile’. The local variety (‘Gerde-Eshkevarat’) produced the widest kernels. In conclusion, among the assessed cultivars, the foliar application of zinc and boron had a significant effect on the quality (oil, Zn and B) of the hazelnuts.
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