BERRY DROP AND FRUIT REMOVAL FORCES AS RELATED WITH GA₃ APPLICATIONS IN TABLE GRAPES

Increasing gibberellic acid (GA₃) applications in seedless grapes is known to be related to the more severe occurrence of berry drop in postharvest.
It has been assumed that this occurs via a reduction in the attachment of the berries.
A methodological approach was developed to measure fruit removal force (FRF), in Chilean Thompson Seedless grapes treated with different GA₃ levels (30, 110 and 250 ppm GA₃). Contrarily to the assumed notion, in spite of increased actual berry drop, larger FRF occurred as GA₃ levels increased, resulting in a greater detachment resistance.
Further, a marked reduction in pedicel flexibility was caused by GA₃ and this is postulated to be involved in the berry abscission mechanism under these conditions.

VII International Symposium on Plant Growth Regulators in Fruit Production

J. Retamales, T. Cooper

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1993.329.12