Budagovsky, Geneva, Pillnitz, and Malling Apple Rootstocks Affect ‘FUJI’ Performance over the first six years of the 2010 NC-140 FUJI Apple Rootstock Trial

The 40-year-old NC-140 Multi-State Research Project is comprised of researchers from 29 U.S. states, three Canadian provinces, Mexico, and Chile.  It evaluates fruit-tree performance on different rootstocks, with the principle goal of helping orchardists optimize their orchard system through rootstock selection.  NC-140 greatly enhances the evaluation process through uniform trials at many locations including a diversity of soils and climates. 

New apple rootstocks are made available regularly from numerous sources worldwide.  The Budagovsky, Cornell-Geneva, and Pillnitz breeding programs are some of the most prolific producers of new apple rootstocks.  Budagovsky rootstocks are from the Michurinsk State Agrarian University in Michurinsk, Tambov Region, Russia (Cummins and Aldwinckle, 1983).  The Cornell-Geneva Apple Rootstock Breeding Program has released numerous rootstocks with a high degree of disease resistance, particularly to the fire blight bacterium (Erwinia amylovora).  The Pillnitz series of rootstocks (PiAu and Supporter) are from the Institut für Obstforschung Dresden-Pillnitz, Germany, (Fischer, 1997).  The objectives of this trial were to assess and compare the performance of several Budagovsky, Cornell-Geneva, and Pillnitz rootstocks to Malling industry standards at multiple sites in North America, exposing the rootstocks to diverse climate, soil, and management conditions.