Phenology of flowering and pomological traits of almond cultivars in the region of Belgrade

Sa？etak The paper presents the phenology of flowering and pomological characteristics of seven almond Prunus dulcis cultivars; (‘Exinograd’, ‘Icar’, ‘Mari de Stepa’, ‘Nessebar’, ‘Miagkoskorlupniy’, ‘Prianiy’ and Retsou’) in the region of Belgrade. The characteristics of the flowering phenophase (the beginning, the full flowering, the end of flowering, duration and abundance) as well as nut characteristics (nut weight and dimensions, shell thickness, weight of kernel, kernel/nut ratio, oil and total mineral contents) were examined. The average flowering time of the examined cultivars was the second half of March and early April. The flowering began first in the ‘Exinograd’ and ‘Nessebar’ cultivars (March 14th), and the last in ‘Mari de Stepa’ cultivar (April 1st). The average duration of flowering ranged from 11 to 22 days and it was longer in the cultivars with earlier flowering. Cultivars ‘Icar’ and ‘Exinograd’ had a large nut (weighing above 5 g), but also the lowest kernel/nut ratio (below 30%). On the other hand, small nut (under 2.5 g) was found in cultivars ‘Retsou’, ‘Miagkoskorlupniy’, ‘Nessebar’ and ‘Prianiy’, which also had the highest kernel/nut ratio (47-52%). The oil content in the kernel varied from 49.06% (‘Miagkoskorlupniy’) to 60.35% (‘Mari de Stepa’). The total mineral content (ash) ranged from 3.03% to 3.31%