ISHS Acta Horticulturae 146: International Workshop on Controlling Vigor in Fruit Trees
DWARFING PEACHES BY PRUNING AND BY PACLOBUTRAZOL |
| Author: | A. Erez |
| Abstract:
Systematic annual pruning was found to maintain a small and productive peach tree. In the intensive meadow orchard system, where one arm out of two is pruned alternately every winter, an independent behaviour of the fruiting and the growing arms was shown. Delaying the first pruning off of one arm from the second to the third year, increased the yield in the first and second harvests. The third harvest was lower in the delayed pruning treatment only in a low-vigour cultivar. Paclobutrazol inhibited vegetative growth of peach trees when sprayed on foliage or applied to the root system. Strong inhibition was also found in the subsequent year. There was a delay in fruit maturation following an early spring spray of 0.2% a.i. A moderate increase in fruit weight was obtained after root feeding with paclobutrazol in late spring following total growth inhibition. Summer spray of regenerated trees in a mechanized meadow orchard system improved flower bud differentiation in parallel to paclobutrazol concentration and had but a mild growth-inhibiting effect. The next spring flush was markedly inhibited and fruit development was extremely enhanced with treated fruits reaching a better size than untreated fruits. Autumn application enhanced bloom, reduced the next year's vegetative growth, and improved markedly fruit size and color. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
