Effect of soil mineralogical composition on fruit quality of sweet cherry cultivars
By: Azizi Gannouni Thouraya, Albouchi Ali, José Antonio Campoy, Magid Mezni, Ben Ahmed Hela, Ammari Youssef
Key Words: Soil analysis, Prunu savium L, Foliar mineral analysis, Fruit quality, DOP index
Int. J. Agron. Agri. Res. 9(3), 45-56, September 2016.
[Generate Certificate]Abstract
Leaf nutrient concentration of sweet cherry (Prunu savium. L) cultivars was affected by mineralogical composition of soil and tree requirements. Thus, the main objective of this study was to evaluate and choose the performance of the most sweet cherries cultivars in two different pedoclimatic orchards through weight, acidity, firmness, soluble solids content, ripening index and mineral analysis of leaves at 60 days after full bloom (DAFB). This study was carried out in two experimental sites in the North-West of Tunisia (Tibar and Ain-Drahem), with the main purpose of investigating the foliar macronutrient content of four cultivars which are Napoleon, Van, Moreau and Sunburst. The physic-chemical analysis of the soil shows that Tibar’s soil was heavy, while Ain Drahem’s was light. The mineral leaf analysis shows that the four cultivars presented deficiency on leaf P, K, Ca and Mg concentration but nutrional balance on N concentration. The best fruit weight was found in Sunburst in Ain-Drahim (4,81g) and Van (6,49g) in Tibar. Titratable acidity of Tibar’s cultivars was more important than those of Ain Drahem. At both orchards, Moreau showed the balanced nutritional values (∑DOP index), whereas the poorest were found in Napoleon, Van and Sunburst.
