THE USE OF AUXINS IN FRUIT THINNING AND PREVENTING THE PRE-HARVEST FRUIT DROP ON CURE PEAR VARIETY

The chemical thinning of pears has become an orchard practice in the developed fruit growing countries (U.S.A., Western European countries), being a method of getting constant yields of high quality fruits and reducing the alternating bearing of trees(3,4).

The chemical fruit thinning is inexpensive, easy to apply and effective, but it requires special knowledge about materials, rates and time of application, climatic and physiologic factors which affect the response of the trees, initial fruit set, variety, physical factors that affect the application of the material and its absorbtion, etc.(2)

The auxins NAA and NAD are the most commonly chemicals used both for pear fruit thinning and for preventing the pre-harvest fruit drop (4).

In Romania, the Curé pear variety provides about 50 % of the winter pear production.
In some years, this variety sets an excessive crop of fruit and a reduction both in fruit size and fruit quality results.
Also about 10 % of the yield is depreciated yearly because of the pre-harvest fruit drop.

Due to the importance of this variety in our country the researches have been intensified lately in order to find out practical solutions for remedying these shortcomings.

Symposium on Production and Preservation of Pears

S. STAN, M. COTOROBAI, T. PANEA

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1984.161.11