IMPROVING FRUIT SIZE, APPEARANCE, AND OTHER ASPECTS OF FRUIT CROP “QUALITY” WITH PLANT BIOREGULATING CHEMICALS

Plant bioregulators (PBRs) can improve fruit size, appearance and internal fruit quality by direct effects on fruit growth and development or indirectly by regulating crop load, tree or vine vigour, and canopy architecture.
While flower and fruit thinning remains the most important technique to improve fruit size of apples, recent research with substituted phenyl urea cytokinins such as forchlorfenuron (CPPU) and thidiazuron suggests that fruit size of kiwifruit and grape berries can be substantially improved without reducing crop load (fruit number). Gibberellins are used on several crops to improve fruit appearance and internal condition but they also have potential to reduce pesticide usage.
Plant growth retardants of the triazole type appear to have few direct effects on fruit quality but various indirect effects, such as permitting reduced pesticide usage, may prove increasingly important.

These and other examples are used to illustrate recent benefits of basic and applied research with plant bioregulating chemicals.
The argument is made that, while research to improve crop productivity must continue, there is new incentive to direct PGR research to the development of new and improved fruit "products" with enhanced value.
There is also opportunity to address important integrated fruit production issues and objectives with innovative PGR research.

VII International Symposium on Plant Growth Regulators in Fruit Production

Norman E. Looney

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1993.329.21