was part of an NC-140-coordinated trial established in 

 1980. This trial included 9 rootstocks with Starkspur 

 Supreme Delicious as the scion cultivar. Since then, 

 additional trials including 0.3 were established in 

 1985, 1990, and 1994 with Summerland Red 

 Mcintosh, Smoothee Golden Delicious, Nicobel 

 Jonagold, Empire, and Law Rome as scion cultivars. 

 This article will provide information from all of these 

 plantings, extracting data from each experiment to 

 compare 0.3 with M.9 and/or M.26. These data are 

 given in Table 1 . 



In general, 0.3 produced a tree that was 

 intermediate to those on M.9 EMLA and M.26 EMLA 

 rootstocks. Exceptions include scions Rome and Gala, 

 where trees on 0.3 were similar in size to those on M.9 

 EMLA. 



Relative to M.26, 0.3 yielded somewhat less per 

 tree with Delicious and Mcintosh, somewhat more 

 with Golden Delicious and Empire, and similar to 

 M.26 with Rome and Gala. With the exception of 

 Rome, trees on 0.3 generally yielded more than those 

 on M.9. In all cases, trees on 0.3 were more yield 

 efficient than those on M.26 EMLA. They also were 

 more efficient than trees on M.9 with Gala and Golden 

 Delicious as scions. The practical result of these 



differences is that 0.3 will generally produce a tree 

 that is between M.26 and 0.3 in size but will yield 

 more per acre, when appropriately spaced in the field, 

 than trees on M.26. 



0.3, M.9, and M.26 all resulted in good fruit size, 

 and there were no consistent differences among the 

 three rootstocks. Overall, average fruit size in these 

 studies averaged about 200 g (96 count), attesting to 

 the fact that these dwarfing rootstocks regularly result 

 in large fruit, even with a lack of irrigation, as was the 

 case in all of the trials. 



0.3 was compared with eight other rootstocks 

 (including M.9 EMLA and M.26 EMLA) at 27 sites 

 throughout the U.S. and Canada as part of a 

 cooperative NC-140 trial. After 10 years, trees on 0.3 

 were intermediate in size and yield per tree to those on 

 M.9 EMLA and M.26 EMLA. Trees on 0.3 and M.9 

 EMLA were similarly efficient and significantly more 

 efficient than those on M.26 EMLA. 



The data from Massachusetts and from the NC- 

 1 40 trial suggest that 0.3 is a good rootsock, one that is 

 worthy of grower trial. Some studies have grown 0.3 

 unsupported, but in many cases, trees on 0.3 lean at the 

 trunk. Therefore, some form of support likely will be 

 beneficial. 



*X* vL* vl* *X* vl* 



#Y* *y* •y* •x* *T* 



Fruit Notes, Volume 64 (Number 2), Spring, 1999 



13 



