REGULATION OF CONFERENCE PEAR CROPPING WITH GIBBERELLIC ACID AND ETHEPHON OR PACLOBUTRAZOL

Gibberellic acid effectively induced fruit development in Conference pear, but led to the production of small fruit and inhibited flower initiation because too many fruits were set.
Ethephon applied after flowering reduced the number of fruits retained to harvest and thus improved fruit size and subsequent flowering.
Sometimes ethephon overthinned to give poor yields, and its optimum time of application was variable.
Paclobutrazol applied together with the GA₃ during flowering reduced initial fruit set and improved fruit size and fruit bud formation, and may be more reliable than ethephon, while also providing useful growth control.

V International Symposium on Growth Regulators in Fruit Production

J.N. Knight, G. Browning

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1986.179.48