Research Article

Structural Anomalies in Apricot Flower Buds Caused by Extreme Winter Frosts

Volume: 35 Number: 3 September 30, 2025
TR EN

Structural Anomalies in Apricot Flower Buds Caused by Extreme Winter Frosts

Abstract

Low temperatures are among the most damaging stress factors in fruit growing. Tolerance is one of the most important strategies for plants in coping with cold stress. However, the tolerance depends on the plant organ and the phenological phase of the trees. Even though the tree trunk, the main branches and the flower buds are usually tolerant to even extremely low temperatures at dormancy period, flower buds can be damaged abnormally by low temperatures especially when the low temperatures occur after a warm period and/or when the temperatures are extremely low. In these cases, most of the flower buds can be damaged and anomalies may also occur in flowers that remain alive. In this study, the flower bud injuries and the flower structures were investigated in such a case occurred in in Kuluncak district of Malatya province in Türkiye in 2020-2021 winter season. The temperature was below -20°C for several times and mostly after a warm period. In order to investigate the impact of the related frosts on apricot trees, this study was carried out in 32 apricot orchards (9 for ‘Hacıhaliloğlu’ cultivar and 23 for ‘Kabaaşı’ cultivar) located in the area. The results showed that the injury rate in the ‘Hacıhaliloğlu’ orchards was between 94 and 100 %, while, it varied between 22 and 87 % in the ‘Kabaaşı’ orchards. In the surviving buds; petal, stamen and pistil were significantly shorter in both of the cultivars. The study clearly showed how serious winter frost damage can be and that necessary precautions must be taken especially when establishing orchards in the areas where winter frosts are prevalent.

Keywords

References

  1. Andiç, C. (1993). Tarımsal Ekoloji. Atatürk Üniversitesi Ziraat Fakültesi Ders Notları No: 106, Erzurum.
  2. Anonymous. (2014). Sonuç raporu (Final report in Turkish). Ulusal Kayısı Çalıştayı (National Apricot Workshop), 18–19 Kasım 2014, Malatya. Retrieved from https://www.tarimorman.gov.tr/BUGEM/Belgeler/Duyurular/kayisimail.pdf (Accessed: 13.10.2024).
  3. Bakos, J. L., Ladányi, M., & Szalay, L. (2024). Frost hardiness of flower buds of 16 apricot cultivars during dormancy. Folia Horticulturae, 36, 81-93.
  4. Bartolini, S., Viti, R., & Zanol, G. (2004). The involvement of glutathione in flower bud dormancy overcoming in apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.). In R. Viti & G. Zanol (Eds.), Recent Research Developments in Agronomy and Horticulture (Vol. 1, pp. 11–28). Research Signpost Press, Kerala, India.
  5. Erdem, E., Aşkın, M. A., & Sarısu, H. C. (2016). Kayısı ve kiraz çiçek tomurcukları üzerine kış donlarının etkileri. Meyve Bilimi, 3(1), 45–50.
  6. FAO. (2024). Crops and livestock products. FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations. Retrieved from https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL
  7. Güneş, N. T. (2006). Frost hardiness of some Turkish apricot cultivars during the bloom period. HortScience, 41(2).
  8. Hajinal, V., Puskás, N., Ladányi, M., & Szalay, L. (2014). Evaluation of suitability for Hungarian conditions of American apricot cultivars based on frost hardiness and microsporogenesis. In Növénynemesítés a megújuló mezőgazdaságban (p. 175).

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Pomology and Treatment

Journal Section

Research Article

Early Pub Date

September 30, 2025

Publication Date

September 30, 2025

Submission Date

December 3, 2024

Acceptance Date

June 3, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 35 Number: 3

APA
Karlıdağ, H., Karaat, F. E., & Kutsal, İ. K. (2025). Structural Anomalies in Apricot Flower Buds Caused by Extreme Winter Frosts. Yuzuncu Yıl University Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 35(3), 545-552. https://doi.org/10.29133/yyutbd.1595666
Creative Commons License
Yuzuncu Yil University Journal of Agricultural Sciences by Van Yuzuncu Yil University Faculty of Agriculture is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.