AN EXPERIMENT TO INDUCE EARLY PEAR CROPPING BY THE USE OF GROWTH REGULATORS AND SHOOT TIPPING

Young trees of the cultivars ‘Beurré Hardy’ and ‘Doyenné du Comice’ on Quince A were planted in 1969. From 1972 to 1976 GA₄+₇ at 16 ppm was sprayed yearly and at about 60% of flowering, CCC at 2000 ppm was applied yearly when 8–10 leaves per shoot were present.
As a third factor shoot tipping was used.
These 3 factors were applied alone or in all possible combinations with a control.
The harvests in 1972 and 1973 were small, in 1974 a good crop was obtained and 1975 was a complete off-year.
For the harvest in 1974 the combination of GA₄+₇ + CCC was most effective.
Shoot tipping had no advantage.
CCC reduced tree size and annual stem increment and enhanced fruit bud formation mainly in ‘Beurré Hardy’.

II International Symposium on Pear Growing

H. Jonkers

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1977.69.22