THE EFFECT OF BIOREGULATORS, NITROGEN, LEAF REMOVAL, AND BRANCH TIPPING ON FLORAL BUD DISORDER OF JAPANESE PEAR ‘HOSUI’ (PYRUS PYRIFOLIA NAKAI)

Floral bud disorder, known collectively as ‘budjump’, has been noted in all growing areas of New Zealand.
Affected trees seem to develop normally until late winter-early spring when large numbers of floral buds abort and drop from the tree or disintegrate when touched.
These buds often have loose, desiccated bud scales.
Buds developing further frequently produce fewer flowers per cluster than buds on unaffected trees or buds produced in seasons in which the disorder is not severe.
The flowers from the affected buds are often very small with short stalks.
In the winter of 2000 ‘budjump’ was severe.
None of the treatments tested successfully prevented ‘budjump’ with an exception of defoliation treatment.
Plant bioregulator treatment made ‘budjump’ worse.
There were no great differences among treatments.
Defoliation showed the lowest incidence, whereas high nitrogen application showed the highest.
Usually, however, within any treatment, the same trees were always the best/worst at each sampling date.

IX International Symposium on Plant Bioregulators in Fruit Production

S.-D. Oh, D. Klinac

Hosui cultivar, ‘budjump’, ethylene, Retain, dormancy, abnormal flowers

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.653.5