Breeding report of a new late-ripening apricot cultivar‘Jinshuo’

Abstract:‘Jinshuo’is a late ripening, table apricot with excellent appearance. The seeds were derived from a cross of‘Jinshou’בGongfo’in 2009 at an experimental field. Through artificial hybridization pollination in 2009, 46 hybrid seeds were produced.‘Jinshuo’was initially selected in 2012 for its beautiful shape and late ripening time. After its successful participation in regional adaptability testing in two cites (Baoding and Chengde) in 2017, it was finally selected in December 2019 winning the new plant variety right of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration. The tree is vigorous with circular crown and half open tree gesture. The young branches are green or reddish-brown in the direction of sunlight. The leaves are wide round or round with a long tail tip, 6.6 cm long, 5.6 cm wide, sharply ser-rated. The flowers are white with a diameter of 2.8 cm; they feature a calyx that stands out as it is red-dish purple, resembling a flower after the flower fall; and they hardly fall off the tree. The fruit of‘Jin-shuo’is mainly oval and it has a yellow peel and some flesh on the surface. Its shape is asymmetrical and the suture, shallow. Its flesh is yellow, soft solute, rich in juice, and with fine texture. The pulp is separated from the core. The average fruit weighs 85 g, but it can weigh up to 134 g. The content of sol-uble solid is 15.5% and the content of titratable acid is 0.89%; excellent quality. The fruit development period is 100 d and it matures mid-July in Zhangjiakou, Hebei. It has strong sprouting ability and medi-um branching ability. It is resistant to cold and drought; e.g. it is not damaged even in freezing tempera-tures as low as -3 ℃ and it is only threatened by few diseases and insects or pests. Suitable cultivation area is in northern China; this variety can bear fruits next year after being planted. After the third year it gradually entered the high production period and the output in the sixth year was 19 048.5 kg·hm-2. For the orchards various types of soil conditions can be chosen regardless of the soil pH; spacing within and  between the rows is (2-3) m×4 m. The configuration of pollinizer should select fresh apricot varieties with large amount of pollen and consistent flowering period, and the proportion of allocation accounts for 15%-20%. With respect to shaping and pruning, it is suitable to adopt spindle tree shape, remove the upright branches and vigorous long branches on the back on time, and ensure adequate ventilation and light transmission conditions. The cultivation mode of planting grass between rows and covering plastic film in rows can effectively reduce the frequency of watering and fertilizing.