FLOWERING AND POLLINATION TIME AFFECT FRUIT SET OF FOREIGN ALMOND CULTIVARS IN MOROCCO

The associations 'Marcona'-'Fournat de Brézenaud' and 'Ferragnès'-'Ferraduel' are the cultivar combinations mostly planted in commercial orchards in Morocco.The blooming time and the effective pollination period (EPP) were determined for these associations in order to determine the effect of blooming and pollination times on the irregular yields observed in Morocco with these cultivars.'Marcona' bloom was earlier than for 'Fournat de Brézenaud', but 'Ferragnès and 'Ferraduel' coincided in blooming.Fruit set and percentage of pistils with pollen grains showed a maximum when pollination was done at day 2 after emasculation.Fruit set and stigmatic receptivity decreased drastically from day 4 after emasculation.Fruit set in the open pollination treatment was lower than that obtained after hand pollination at days 0 and 2 after emasculation, especially in 'Marcona'.These results emphasize the importance of early pollination as well as the selection of new cultivars with the same flowering period than 'Marcona' to improve almond yields in Morocco.