Table 2.
Summary of the two-year chilling experiment in this study
| First-year experiment | Second-year experiment | Usage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sampling dates | Chilling treatment | Sampling dates | Chilling treatment | |
| 12 Nov. 2020 | No extra chilling 13 d extra chilling (5 × T)* 30 d extra chilling (5 × T) 60 d extra chilling (5 × T) |
22 Nov. 2021 | No extra chilling 14 d extra chilling (5 × T) 28 d extra chilling (5 × T) 56 d extra chilling (5 × T) 84 d extra chilling (5 × T) |
Training |
| 12 Dec. 2020 | No extra chilling | 6 Dec. 2021 | No extra chilling | Testing |
| 30 d extra chilling (5 × T)† | 20 Dec. 2021 | No extra chilling | ||
| 11 Jan. 2021 | No extra chilling | 17 Jan. 2022 | No extra chilling | |
| 14 Feb. 2022 | No extra chilling | |||
5 × T represents that the twigs were chilled at five temperature conditions. In the first-year experiment, the five temperatures were −15, −10, −5, 0 and 5 °C, while in the second-year experiment, the five temperatures were −10, −5, 0, 5 and 10 °C. Training and testing: data used to train or test the chilling functions.
*At this date, in order to test the potential frost damage, only the twigs at −15 and −10 °C were moved to forcing conditions.
†These samples were used to compare the effects of natural chilling (in field) and artificial chilling (in refrigerators) on dormancy release.