CHEMICAL THINNING OF MIDSEASON PEACH CULTIVARS IN HUNGARY

In the climatic conditions of Hungary peach regularly oversets and needs fruit thinning.
This paper reports experiments on fruit thinning some midseason cultivars with ethephon (CEPA) at dose rates of 70 – 210 g/ha during 1983–1985. Optimum fruit density was estimated as 8 to 14 fruits/cm² trunk cross-section, depending on cultivar and production area.
Above this crop-loading thinning is desirable and can increase fruit quality and profitability.

The critical time for spraying ethephon is just before pit hardening, the timing of the application being much more important than the dose.
To obtain the same level of thinning different cultivars require different concentrations.
Starking Delicious was the most sensitive, followed by Suncrest, Redhaven and Sunbeam in that order.

V International Symposium on Growth Regulators in Fruit Production

M. David, T. Nigicser

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1986.179.112