Fruit Quality Parameters of Foreign Apricot Cultivars in Hungary

Introducing and growing new foreign apricot cultivars in Hungary is not an easy work, due to the differences in the environmental adaptability of the various genotypes. We have to study accurately the phenological traits, morphological features and fruit quality of new cultivars, as well as the suitability of growing them under the local conditions. In this project physical parameters and inner contents of 6 foreign cultivars ('Laycot', 'Pinkcot', 'Sungiant', 'Sylred', 'Sylvercot', 'Veecot') were investigated in 2010. A traditional Hungarian cultivar ('Gonci magyar kajszi') was used as a control. Fruit weight, diameter, ground colour, flesh firmness, sugar content and organic acid content were observed during different ripening stages. Based on fruit size and colour, all observed cultivars proved to be suitable for fresh market. The good flesh firmness observed for the cultivars ensures reasonable self-life, but to ensure it the optimal harvest date is very important. Based on our results these new foreign apricot cultivars are very promising for Hungarian fresh market from the aspect of fruit quality.