Rootstock selection for Honeycrisp apples
Introduction
Since its release in 1991, Honeycrisp has become one of the most sought-after apple varieties. Its juiciness, firmness, crispiness, and well-balanced sweetness and tartness make it desirable to consumers. However, growers have had to manage undesirable pre- and post-harvest traits of Honeycrisp, such as severe leaf chlorosis and strong biennial bearing.
Currently, M9 rootstocks are heavily used in BC’s apple production. M9 was the first commercialized dwarfing rootstock that helped growers plant in high density, resulting in improved yield per land area. However, it also has a few disadvantages, including low tolerance to extreme temperatures and poor resistance to some common pests, which has become more apparent with climate change.
The goal of this research was to identify more sustainable (economically and environmentally) alternative rootstocks to M9 for Honeycrisp. Selecting the right rootstock to start with can help growers manage these issues, saving them time and money on orchard management. Researchers tested the performance of Honeycrisp on 16 rootstocks against M.9T337. The experiment included 2 industrial standard Malling rootstocks, 4 Budagovsky rootstocks, and 9 Geneva rootstocks.
About this brief
This brief was prepared by Juliana Cao and Nisa Chavez from the BC Food Web team, with the help of Hao Xu, and is based on the following Government of Canada publication:
- Xu, H., MacDonald, JL., Singh, A., Pagliocchini, C., & Ediger, D. (2022). Apple rootstock vigor and production: effects of rootstock on Honeycrisp. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Summerland, BC, Canada. 11p. https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.910864/publication.html
Key Findings
- M9 rootstocks have historically been the most common rootstock for Honeycrisp production in BC. They have allowed growers to plant at high densities, resulting in higher yield per land area. However, they also have some disadvantages which have become more apparent with climate change, such as cold damage and high pest susceptibility.
- This study identified other dwarfing and semi-dwarfing rootstocks (such as G.4004, G.41N, and G.11) with disease resistance and extreme temperature tolerance that can produce similar or higher yield than M9.