The first intensive apple orchards in Albania were planted in 1980s. M9 was used as a rootstock and as cultivars were used Golden Delicious, Lutz Golden, Renet Canadian, Red Delicious,Granny Smith, Fuji,  etc. The applied planting distance were 4 x 2.5 meters or some 100/plants for hectare with the average production performance reaching 200-250 quintals/hectare. The agrarian reform between 1992- 1998 and the changes to the ownership of the land improved the situation in the existing apple orchards creating new development opportunities. Currently, new owners invest by hiring contemporary technology thanks to financial accumulations from remittances and state projects on the agriculture. In 2000 – 2004 certain important interventions under the IP Vlore and Horticulture Department of the Agricultural University of Tirana were realized aiming at improving the situation in the existing apple planting.  To mention here among others, the study of the impact of the reconstruction mass of Lutz Golden apple grafted with the M9 rootstock. The study was realized in a 2 hectare area with apple trees aged almost 20 years. Technically, the experiment was raised by 5 variants X 4 replication/variant where V0 stands for control variants, V1 stands for lowering of aura by 10%, V2 stands for lowering of aura by 20%, V3 stands for lowering of aura by 30%, and V4 stands for reconstruction in mass by 70% and reformation of aura in three consecutive years. In the end, the best variants where found to be V4 45. 23 and V3, 33.12 kilograms for each apple tree where the utilized schemes optimized the vegetative-production situation in the apple orchards in an effective way.

apple planting, rootstock, distance, technology, reconstruction, grafted

Presentation: oral