EFFECT OF BORON FERTILIZATION ON GROWTH, YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY OF PLUM TREES (PRUNUS DOMESTICA L.)

The experiment was carried out in 1996 on nine-year-old ‘Stanley’ plum trees (Prunus domestica L.) grafted on Myrobalan (Prunus divaricata) seedling, planted on sandy-loam soil which contained 0.36 mg B kg^-1, extracted by hot water (according to the Berger’s method). In the experiment was applied soil boron fertilization at the dose 2 kg B ha^-1 and boron sprays in spring or in autumn.
Trees without any boron fertilization served as a control.
The aim this work was to examine effect of boron fertilization of plum trees on growth, yield and fruit quality.

The obtained results showed that boron applied to the soil or as foliar sprays had not significant effect either on the increment of trunk cross section area or on the total length of one-year-old shoots.
All the boron treatments increased number of one-year-old shoots and decreased their mean length.
Boron fertilization did not influence the percentage of fruit set, estimated at 2, 4 and 5 weeks after bloom.
Moreover, boron fertilization did not affect yield and mean fruit weight.
Foliar boron sprays applied in spring or in autumn caused a significant increase of soluble solids content in fruit at harvest time.
All treatments with boron fertilization reduced fruit splitting, estimated at the harvest time.
It was confirmed by Verner-test.
They also resulted in an increase of leaf boron concentration, the effect being the highest with boron fertilization applied in spring.
No significant differences in leaf concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, copper and zinc were found between treatments.

VI International Symposium on Plum and Prune Genetics, Breeding, Pomology

P. Wójcik

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1998.478.40