The Michurinsk State Agrarian University (Michurinsk SAU) is one of the leading centers for breeding apple clonal rootstocks. A diverse collection rootstocks, founded in 1930s by V.I. Budagovsky, maintained at SAU. In present study, 87 rootstocks from this were analyzed using 18 SSR markers to assess their genetic diversity and relatedness. detected polymorphism level was rather high compared p...

Apple scions with diverse growth habits were grafted on various size-controlling rootstocks and morphological characteristics were measured after 6 years of growth in the field. Scion had more influence than rootstock on monthly growth rate. Across all rootstocks, scions with spreading growth habits grew rapidly in April and May and achieved most seasonal growth earlier than scions with upright...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Despite the widespread use of dwarfing rootstocks in the fruit-tree industry, their impact on tree architectural development and possible role in the within-tree balance between growth and flowering are still poorly understood, in particular during the early years of growth. The present study addressed this question in apple trees, through a detailed analysis of shoot popula...