Influence of genotype, year and type of fruiting branches on the productive behaviour of almond

The effect of the type of fruiting branch was studied over 2 years in nine almond selections in order to investigate its relationship with bloom density, fruit set, the level of the subsequent crop, and the physical traits of the fruits. The effect of the fruiting branch, defined by the presence of spurs, was found to be highly significant for bloom density, productivity and fruit size, but not for fruit shape, showing that nut and kernel shapes are cultivar traits. Bloom density and its components, as well as fruit set, fruit density and productivity were highly genotype and year dependent, but the interaction genotype × year was less important or even non-significant, stressing the special behaviour of each genotype as well as the effect of the year, probably linked to the climatic conditions and to the physiological status of the trees.