Abstract:

【Objective】 The responses of dormancy induction to illumination and the character of respiratory rate were studied with the nectarine peach bud in this paper. 【Method】 The trial was conducted with nectarine peach (Prunus persica var. nectariana cv. Shuguang ) and involved three treatments: a short day treatment (8 h), a long day treatment (16 h) and normal condition as control. The dormancy status were determined with the growth of shoot and the sprouting ability, and respiratory rate was mensurated with oxygen electrode. 【Result】 Short day treatment induced the growth stopping of peach shoots ahead of time, promoted the development of dormancy, and induced buds into dormancy 21 days earlier compared with the control. Long day treatment postponed the growth stopping and the induction and development of dormancy. The respiratory rate decreased according to the development of dormancy induction. The minimum respiratory rate appeared about 7 d after the start of of dormancy induction. Bud respriatiory rate increased during this period and then declined and remained at low level at dormancy period. Long day treatment reduced buds respiratory slightly.【Conclusion】 Short day could induce dormancy obviously, and long day postponed dormancy induction. The changes of respiratory rate were correlated with the development of dormancy induction, and the rate of bud respiratory was also affected by photoperiod.

Key words: peach (Prunus persica), dormancy induction, photoperiod, respiratory rate