293 Fruit Quality and Yield Characteristics of Some Loquat Genotypes in Dortyol, Turkey A.A. Polat and O. Caliskan Department of Horticulture Faculty of Agriculture Mustafa Kemal University Antakya, Hatay Turkey Keywords: loquat, phenology, pomology, productivity Abstract We studied the phenological, pomological and yield characteristics of 11 cultivars of loquat (Erioborya japonica Lindl.) (‘Hafif Çukurgöbek’, ‘Sayda’, ‘Gold Nugget’, ‘Ottowianni’, ‘Lapta B2’, ‘Baduna 5’, ‘Güzelyurt 1’, ‘Şampiyon’, ‘Lapta M’, ‘Akko XIII’ and ‘Lapta 1’) between 2003 and 2006 under the Mediterranean climate in Dortyol, Hatay, Turkey. ‘Sayda’ was the earliest, while ‘Şampiyon’ was the latest. Highest fruit size was obtained from ‘Güzelyurt 1’, whereas the smallest fruit size from ‘Akko XIII’ and ‘Sampiyon’. Mean seed weight ranged between 1.3 and 3.0 and average number of seeds per fruit ranged between 2.1 and 4.1. The edible fruit in ‘Hafif Çukurgobek’ was significantly higher than others. ‘Lapta 1’ and ‘Lapta M’ (14.2 and 13.3%, respectively) had the highest total soluble solids content while ‘Akko XIII’ (8.68%) had the lowest. The highest cumulative both yield per tree and yield per hectare were obtained from ‘Şampiyon’ with 227.1 kg/tree and 63.1 ton/ha, respectively. The results suggest that these genotypes can be successfully grown in a Mediterranean climate. INTRODUCTION Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) was introduced to Anatolia 150 to 200 years ago probably from Algeria or Lebanon (Demir, 1989). Until the last decade, loquat crop grew home gardens for local consumption. After noticing its market value, the demand for its commercial production has rapidly increased (Polat and Caliskan, 2006a). Unlike other subtropical species, loquat flowers in winter, and fruits can be harvested 152-189 days after flowering (Lupescu et al., 1980). Therefore, loquat fruits can be found for higher prices since there is no fruit in the market when they are available in spring months, with the exception of strawberries, and some plum and almond cultivars which are consumed as immature fruits (Polat, 1996). While loquats meet the demand when there is not many fresh fruits available, it also has an important place in nutrition with its high A, B, and C vitamins, minerals and sugars (Gross et al., 1973). Besides, loquat cultivars have a variable range of total phenol content and a relatively high total antioxidant capacity, which is crucial for human health (Polat et al., 2010). In recent years there has been an increased demand for loquats and therefore an increased desire to increase production. Turkey’s loquat production has increased from 3000 t in 1980 to 12619 t in 2008 (Anon., 2008). Turkey’s production ranks behind only China, Japan and Pakistan (Cabellero et al., 2003). In Turkey, loquat is produced in certain parts of the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black Sea regions which have subtropic climates. About 96% of the production is in the Mediterranean region, becoming highly concentrated along the coastal belt. In the Mediterranean region the Antalya province is in first place, followed by the Mersin and Adana province, respectively. The fourth province is Hatay (Polat and Caliskan, 2006b). Loquat farming in Hatay is carried out with very small plantings using seedlings; there are very few commercial orchards using grafted cultivars. For this reason, the best suitable cultivars should be determined for Hatay’s climate (Polat and Caliskan, 2006a). Proc. III rd IS on Loquat Eds.: J. Janick and A. Aytekin Polat Acta Hort. 887, ISHS 2011