Articles
EFFECT OF PACLOBUTRAZOL ON GROWTH, FLOWERING AND YIELD OF JAPANESE APRICOT (PRUNUS MUME SIEB. AND ZUCC.)
Collar drenches of paclobutrazol at the rates of 2, 4, 8, 16 g. ai. per tree were applied to the soil, while the concentrations used for foliar applications were 500 and 1 000 ppm.
With both methods of application, the chemical was separately applied in April, May and June.
A repeat application to all treated trees was made in October and compared with a single application made in October.
The results showed that the trees treated with paclobutrazol once in October had the longest new shoots as compared to those in other treatments.
This was observed for both methods of application.
Shoot growth was more reduced in trees receiving paclobutrazol from the soil as compared to those receiving foliar applied chemical.
The time of full bloom was 1–2 weeks later for all paclobutrazol treated trees, but the harvest time was 1–2 weeks earlier.
Thus there was a hastening effect of paclobutrazol on fruit development.
In this experiment there was no significant differences in the amount of flowers and fruits among the various treatments, although the paclobutrazol treated trees tend to give higher yields and bigger fruits than control trees which received no paclobutrazol.