Grower Rootstock Comparisons

Atlas™

Interspecific peach, almond, plum & apricot - rooted cutting

Advantages:

Extremely vigorous, root-knot nematode resistance similar to Nemaguard, productive, increases fruit size, considered well anchored, tolerant of saline and alkaline soil conditions

Disadvantages:

Delays fruit maturity in some varieties, intolerant of wet soil conditions, intolerant of dehydration in transplanting - see note at page bottom.

Citation

Interspecific peach & plum - rooted cutting

Advantages:

Highly compatible with apricot and plum, induces early bearing, tolerant of wet soil conditions, resists root knot nematode, advances maturity and increases size and sugar content of fruit

Disadvantages:

Susceptible to crown gall, bacterial canker and oak root fungus, intolerant of virus with peach or nectarine

Hansen 536

Interspecific peach & plum - tissue culture

Advantages:

Vigorous, well-anchored, some resistance to root-knot nematode, very tolerant of saline and alkaline soil conditions

Disadvantages:

Susceptible to root-lesion nematode; very susceptible to bacterial canker, oak-root fungus, crown gall, Phytophthora and ring nematode, intolerant of virus with peach or nectarine, intolerant of dehydration in transplanting - see note at page bottom.

Lovell

Peach seedling

Advantages:

Slightly more resistant to wet conditions than Nemaguard but prefers well-drained soils, slightly more resistant to bacterial canker than Nemaguard

Disadvantages:

Susceptible to root-knot and root-lesion nematode and to oak-root fungus, somewhat susceptible to bacterial canker

M40 Marianna

Plum - rooted cutting

Advantages:

Similar to Marianna 26-24, but having a deeper root system, better anchorage, and fewer suckers

Marianna 26-24

Plum - rooted cutting

Advantages:

Slightly dwarfing, moderately resistant to Phytophthora crown and root rot and oak root fungus, tolerates wet soils, root-knot nematode resistant

Disadvantages:

Tends to lean, shallow roots the first few years, very susceptible to bacterial canker, incompatible with peaches, nectarines and some almond varieties, suckers profusely, susceptible to crown gall, almonds subject to brown line disease and union mild etch

Myrobalan 29C

Plum -- rooted cutting

Advantages:

Makes large tree, immune to root-knot nematode, tolerates wet soils, less sucker development than Marianna 2624

Disadvantages:

Tends to lean, some incompatibility with almonds, prunes subject to brown line on this rootstock, may set lighter crop than Marianna 26-24, susceptible to oak root fungus

Nemaguard

Peach seedling

Advantages:

Root-knot nematode resistant, vigorous, strong tree

Disadvantages:

Susceptible to root-lesion nematode, prefers sandy soil, susceptible to oak root fungus & bacterial canker, prunes on this rootstock are subject to brown line

ROOTPAC® R

Almond x plum - tissue culture

Advantages:

Well-anchored tree, highly resistant to root-knot nematode, resistant to oak-root fungus and Phytophthora, tolerant of saline and alkaline soil conditions

Disadvantages:

Susceptible to root-lesion and ring nematode and to bacterial canker, higher density required to compensate for smaller tree size

Titan Hybrid

Titan almond x Nemaguard, peach - hybrid seedling

Advantages:

Extremely vigorous, may have root-knot nematode resistance, considered well anchored, tolerant of calcareous soil conditions

Disadvantages:

Trees may be excessively vigorous on good soil, may delay maturity of fruit, more susceptible to crown rot than peach seedling rootstocks, intolerant of wet soil conditions

Viking™

Interspecific peach, almond, plum & apricot - rooted cutting

Advantages:

Vigorous, root-knot nematode resistance similar to Nemaguard, productive, precocious tree, increases fruit size, considered well anchored, less susceptible to bacterial canker than seedling rootstocks, tolerant of wet soil conditions, tolerant of saline and alkaline soil conditions

Disadvantages:

Intolerant of dehydration in transplanting - see note at page bottom.

Colt

Cherry -- rooted cutting

Advantages:

Tolerates wet heavy soils better than Mahaleb, resists bacterial canker; cherries on Colt are field resistant to cherry stem pitting

Disadvantages:

Drought sensitive, slight to not dwarfing under California irrigated conditions, susceptible to crown gall, not cold hardy (not a problem in California climate)

Gisela® 12

Cherry -- rooted cutting

Advantages:

Precocious, production moderate to heavy, well anchored, little suckering, suited to a wide range of soils, open, spreading growth habit

Disadvantages:

Crop management may be required, dwarfing varies with soil, climate conditions and cultivar

Mazzard

Cherry seedling

Advantages:

More water tolerant than Mahaleb, cold hardy, resists root-knot nematode, vigorous, moderately resistant to oak root fungus

Disadvantages:

Slow to bear, large tree prone to root suckering, susceptible to crown gall, bacterial canker & root-lesion nematode, scion doesn't show buckskin infection as quickly as on Mahaleb

Zee Stem on Citation

Advantages:

Allows cherry growers to use appropriate peach/plum/almond rootstocks for the planting location, precocious and dwarfing when used with Citation rootstock. Improves fruit quality

Disadvantages:

Crop management may be needed on precocious varieties during early years. Not drought tolerant

M9

Apple - layered cutting

Advantages:

Dwarfs to 40-45% seedling size, very precocious and productive, increases fruit size, has field resistance to cherry stem pitting disease

Disadvantages:

Shallow rooted & drought sensitive, trees require support, susceptible to fireblight and wooly apple aphid

M-7

Apple - layered cutting

Advantages:

Dwarfs to 65-70% seedling size, widely adapted to various soil conditions, moderately resistant to Phytophthora

Disadvantages:

Suckers, staking may be required, susceptible to wooly apple aphid

M-111

Apple - layered cutting

Advantages:

Tolerates waterlogging and drought, well-anchored, resists wooly apple aphid, dwarfs to 90% of seedling-rooted size, good for sandy soils

Disadvantages:

Susceptible to crown rot under very poor conditions

NCB (Northern California Black)

Walnut seedling

Advantages:

Vigorous, resists Verticillium wilt, oak root fungus and root-knot nematode

Disadvantages:

Susceptible to Phytophthora crown gall and root-lesion nematode, Persian (English) walnut on Northern California Black subject to black line

NCB x Persian

Walnut hybrid seedling

Advantages:

Very vigorous, may induce better quality and productivity. resists root-lesion nematode and certain Phytophthora species, grows better in heavy, wet or low fertility soils than NCB, resistant to oak root fungus

Disadvantages:

Highly susceptible to crown gall, may be less resistant to oak root fungus than Northern California Black, Persian walnuts on Paradox subject to black line

On Dehydration

Trees on peach x almond hybrid rootstocks, including interspecifics, are very sensitive to dehydration. While planting, keep roots damp and irrigate after planting.