'Meishuo', a new apricot cultivar with early-maturing and large fruit

Abstract：'Meishuo', an early-maturing apricot cultivar, was newly selected from hybrids of the cross between the sweet apricot cultivar'Mixiang' (female parent) and the large-fruit apricot cultivar'Katy' (male parent) . The hybrid cross was made in 2005 and'Meishuo'was registered by Henan province in January, 2018. The fruit shape of'Meishuo'is near globose and is beautiful in appearance. The fruit of'Meishuo'is extremely large in size, the average fruit weight is 117.6 g, and the maximum fruit weight is 184.3 g. The fruit ground color of'Meishuo'is golden yellow and is covered with rosy red at the sunny side. The peel of'Meishuo'fruit is covered with hair and mid-thick, which can be easily separated.The flesh of'Meishuo'is yellow in color, thick and delicate in texture, with low fiber content, and the edible rate can reach up to 95.3%.'Meishuo'is an attractive fruit with abundant juice, pleasant sweetness and sourness, and intense fruity aroma. The content of soluble solids is about 15.1%, the total soluble sugar content is 7.35%, the reducing sugar content is 2.84%, the total acid content is 1.59%, the pectin content is 1.46%, and the vitamin C content is 11.5 mg·100 g-1. It has excellent flavor and quality. It is free stone and the stone is oblong in shape, the average dry stone weight is approximately 3.3 g. The kernel is bit in flavor, and the average dry kernel weight is about 0.4 g. The fruit can be stored at room temperature for about 5-7 days. In Zhengzhou, middle China, the flower bud of'Meishuo'starts activities in early March, the initial-blossom date mostly appears in middle March, while the full-blossom datemostly appears in late March and the flowering period can last about 5-7 days. The leaf buds germinate in late March and expand in early April. The leaves start falling in early November and defoliation ends in mid-November, and the vegetative growth of the tree lasts about 220 days. The fruit setting rate, sprouting rate, and shooting rate is 26%, 52%, and 34%, respectively. The tree vigor of'Meishuo'is strong with semicircle canopy and semi-opening posture. Initiation of floral bud is easy for'Meishuo'.The results of self-pollination at flowering stage showed that the self-pollination rate of'Meishuo'was very low and it was suggested to be a self-incompatible cultivar. Only by planting suitable pollinizers can it set fruits. The fruit development period is about 63 days. The maturity date is around last May in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China. Fruits are mainly bore on bouquet spurs and short fruiting branches.Flowering starts at the second year and high yield period usually comes at the fifth year after grafting, and the average yield reaches up to 2 400 kg per 666.7 m². This new early-maturing cultivar, exhibits strong suitability to adverse circumstances, is highly and stably productive for high quality fruits. It can be cultivated in the Yellow River and Huaihe River basins, as well as Qinling Mountain and its north area.