Abstract

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Acid soils are severe problems in many parts of Ethiopia, especially on the highland areas of the southern regions of the country. It is generally known that acid soils have adverse effects on growth and yield of apple trees. In view of the wide cultivation of apple in southern Ethiopia, this study was investigated the effect of different rootstocks (MM.111, MM.106 and M.9) and low soil pH (3.5, 4.9 and 6.3) treatments on vegetative growth and yield of Anna and Jonagored cultivars. The used research design was a factorial design in ten replicates. Features measured during the design included plant height, trunk diameter, leaf area, number of branches, leaf dry weight, total number of flowers and fruits. The soil pH of the study site was 4.9; the pH was adjusted, down to pH 3.5 (in H2SO4) and higher to pH 6.3 (in lime). Data on vegetative growth and yield components was followed for three years. The obtained results indicated that, ‘Anna’ and ‘Jonagored’ grafted on MM.106 rootstock had the least growth with least number of flowers and fruits in soil pH of 3.5. Under naturally occurring acidic soil (pH 4.9) both ‘Anna’ and ‘Jonagored’ cultivars grafted on MM.111, MM.106, and M.9 produced reduced vegetative growth, mean number of flowers and fruits compared to soil pH of 6.3. Both ‘Anna’ and ‘Jonagored’ grown on M.9 under soil pH of 6.3 produced more flower and fruits followed by MM.106 and least was found on MM.111. Among the two cultivars, more number of flowers and fruits were produced by ‘Anna’ than ‘Jonagored’.

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