Phenological growth stages of loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl.)

Conservation, characterisation and utilisation of minor fruit tree species is an important objective for diversification of agro-food production. One such fruit tree is the loquat, a tree that originated in China but is well adapted to the Mediterranean area. The conservation and utilisation of suitable germplasm requires an accurate characterisation and evaluation of the material. A first step in characterisation is to use phenotypic traits. This paper describes the phenological growth stages of loquat tree using the extended BBCH scale. Seven principal growth stages (PGS) for bud, leaf and shoot development, inflorescence emergence, flowering, fruit development and fruit maturity and 31 secondary growth stages are described and compared with a previous scale based on Fleckinger classical methodology. An example of application of the extended BBCH scale for characterisation of loquat cultivars from IVIA germplasm collection is reported.