• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.252-269
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• 2017

This study was carried out to examine the base temperature to flowering and the average days to flowering by accumulated hours of low temperature ($5.0^{\circ}C$) or changing temperature after bud breaking. Over-all, the prediction of flowering time in the commercial apple cultivars ('Fuji' and 'Tsugaru') and apple cultivars ('Chukwang', 'Gamhong', 'Hongan', 'Honggeum', 'Hongro', 'Hongso', 'Hwahong', 'Summer dream', 'Sunhong') bred in Korea at the Gunwi region for 4 years (from 2009 to 2012) was investigated. Also, this study estimated the flowering time when the air temperature of Gunwi region rises at $5.0^{\circ}C$ was investigated using the same data. The range of accumulated hours of low temperature (chilling requirement) was from 0 hour to 1,671 hours, and the range of high temperature (heat requirements) to flowering after low temperature treatment was from $5.0^{\circ}C$ to $29.0^{\circ}C$. The treatments of changing temperature after bud breaking were classified as constant temperature treatment (control) and $5.0{\sim}10.0^{\circ}C$ elevation or descent treatments. The results show that the average days to flowering was longer with shorter accumulated hours of low temperature, and the average days from bud breaking to flowering of 0 hour treatment was longer about 2~4 weeks than that of 1,335~1,503 hours treatments. In comparing to apple cultivars, the all cultivars were not flowered under $10.0^{\circ}C$ after bud breaking, and the cultivars with low chilling requirements needed low heat requirements for flowering. The average days to flowering of treatments that the air temperature after bud breaking was controlled about $15.0^{\circ}C$ was shorter about 1~3 weeks than that of treatments was controlled about $10.0^{\circ}C$. In the treatment of changing temperature after bud breaking, the average days from bud breaking to flowering of temperature elevation treatment was shorter than that of constant temperature treatment. By use of these results, the base temperature to flowering of main apple cultivars in Korea was seemed to $10.0^{\circ}C$, and if the air temperature of Gunwi region rises about $5.0^{\circ}C$ than that of current, the flowering time was estimated to be delayed by 1 week.