Control efficiency of Ca-containing foliar fertilizers on bitter pit in ‘Fuji’ apple and effects on the Ca and N contents of apple fruits and leaves

The preharvest application of Ca-containing foliar fertilizers can reduce bitter pit (BP) incidence in apple and improve fruit quality by increasing the Ca content and decreasing both the N content and the N/Ca ratio in fruits.
In this research, we investigated the control efficiency of Ca-containing foliar fertilizers on BP in apple and the effects on the Ca and N contents in ‘Fuji’ apple by spraying the foliar fertilizer containing CaCl₂, Ca(NO₃)₂ or Ca(HCOO)₂ at an early [5 days after full bloom (DAFB) + 40 DAFB] and at a late stage (80 DAFB + 125 DAFB). The Ca content of apple fruits was increased and the N content and N/Ca ratio of apple fruits were decreased, however the Ca content, N content and N/Ca ratio of apple leaves were differentially influenced.
The BP incidences were reduced significantly within a range of 43.2~73.0%, and the efficiency of spraying at the early stage was significantly higher than that of spraying at the late stage.
The foliar fertilizer containing Ca(HCOO)₂, CaCl₂ or Ca(NO₃)₂ could be used for the control of BP in apple and quality improvement of apple fruits.

XXX International Horticultural Congress IHC2018: International Symposium on Fruit and Vegetables for Processing, International Symposium on Quality and Safety of Horticultural Products and VII International Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables

X.M. Yu, J.Z. Wang, P.X. Nie, X.M. Xue, G.P. Wang, M. An

bitter pit in apple, Ca-containing foliar fertilizer, Ca content, N content, N/Ca ratio

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1292.24