Rest Intensity of Dormant Peach and Apricot Leaf Buds as Influenced By Temperature, Cold Hardiness and Respiration1

A bell shaped, rest-intensity curve as a function of time was obtained for ‘Elberta’ peach and ‘Chinese’ apricot leaf buds growing in the field. Rest was not closely associated with fluctuating environmental temperatures, cold hardiness, or rate of respiration. Apricot leaf buds reached the peak of their rest before peach leaf buds, and it was not as intense or as deep as it was with the peach buds. Rest was completed by both species at the same time in early January.