INFLUENCE OF TRAINING METHOD WITH OR WITHOUT CHEMICAL GROWTH REGULATION ON FRUIT QUALITY OF APPLES CV. JONAGOLD, SCHONE VAN BOSKOOP AND GLOSTER

In a pruning trial we compared two types of pruning on apple trees: one following the principles of a free spindle avoiding excessive vegetative growth reactions and another more classical way of pruning where vegetative growth reactions were voluntarily created by pruning cuts.
In both pruning systems, the effect of "repairing" the vegetative growth reactions with chemical growth regulation was studied.
With fruit analyses in July it was not possible to find significative differences between the objects.
Therefore, in 1991, the fruit analyses were made at harvest.
For Boskoop and Gloster a significant increase in K/Ca ratio was found in the plots with strong vegetative growth.
This was due to a lower Ca content in the fruit with equal or higher K content.
Although there was no significant difference in K/Ca ratio for Jonagold, there was still an important effect of the vegetative status of the tree on fruit quality: the desequilibrated trees gave bigger fruit with a more yellow background at harvest.
In this trial the pruning method was more important for the final fruit quality than the use of growth regulation.

International Symposium on Pre- and Postharvest Physiology of Pome-fruit

T. Deckers, C. Missotten

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1993.326.3