INCREASE FRUIT SET AND CROPPING OF ‘COMICE’ PEAR TREES WITH AN ETHYLENE INHIBITOR, AMINO-ETHOXYVINYLGLYCINE

Young ‘Comice’ trees are notorious for low fruit set and crops.
Because of previous success with amino-ethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) on apples to increase fruit set (Williams, 1980), AVG treatments were applied on 7 year old ‘Comice’ trees at full bloom (FB), 2 weeks after bloom (FB+2), and 4 weeks after bloom (FB+4) at concentrations of 150, 300 and 600 mg/l.
Fruit set (FS) and yield efficiency (E) were increased significantly with all concentrations and at all timings with AVG. Greatest FS and E were found with AVG at FB+2 wks. and at the highest concentration.
Fruit size and rate of fruit growth was reduced by AVG at FB for all concentrations and at both post-bloom applications at 600 mg/l.
All AVG applications caused fruit russeting and leaf injury but the level of injury was related to concentration only.
Bloom density was reduced the following year by AVG applied FB+2 at the 2 highest concentrations.
Fruit maturity and storage quality of ‘Comice’ were not influenced by AVG.

III International Symposium on Pear Growing

P.B. Lombard, D.G. Richardson

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1982.124.21