Biology of Chaenomeles japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. ex Spach flowering during introduction in the North

Abstract

The present study is devoted to the investigation of the flowering biology of the multifunctional plant Chaenomeles japonica under the difficult climatic and soil conditions of the north. It was revealed that annual weak\poor flowering leads to the formation of a small number of fruits with full seeds, which makes it possible to obtain more stable offspring. A study of the generative sphere of C. japonica during introduction showed that the structure of the flower corresponds to the specific characteristics of the plant. At the same time, some deviations associated with cultivation in the north have been identified. They are expressed in a violation of the development of both sterile and fertile structures, such as terry (an increase in the number of petals), change in the integrity of their outlines (wavy edge), petalization, transformation of stamens into staminodes, increase or decrease in stylodia, increase or decrease in nests in ovaries, underdeveloped pistils. Weak\Poor flowering and a significant number of anomalies in the fertile parts of a flower lead to the formation of a small number of fruits on plants. The main pollination method of is C. japonica is entomophilia, the main type is xenogamy, which is controlled by a high degree of self-incompatibility. The conducted studies allow us to consider this sample promising for further cultivation and study in difficult conditions of introduction, as well as contribute to the enrichment of the cultural flora of the North with a new fruit plant.