ISHS Acta Horticulturae 444: III International Symposium on Kiwifruit
NITROGEN INFLUENCES KIWIFRUIT STORAGE LIFE |
| Authors: | R.S. Johnson, F.G. Mitchell, C.H. Crisosto, W.H. Olson, G. Costa |
| Abstract:
Fruit from certain vineyards maintain firmness during storage better than other vineyards. These differences tend to remain consistent from year to year. A survey of numerous vineyards within the central valleys of California indicates vineyard nutrition can largely account for these differences. In particular, after 3 years of evaluation, nitrogen has consistently shown a strong correlation, where high nitrogen levels were associated with more rapid fruit softening in storage. Potassium and calcium were also correlated with fruit storageability but less consistently than nitrogen. In 1993, a nitrogen rate experiment was initiated in a 2.5 acre kiwifruit vineyard that had a history of rapid fruit softening during storage. Rates of 0, 150, 300 and 450 kg N/ha were applied to 4 vine plots and replicated 4 times. The objective of this trial was to see whether fruit storage life could be altered by fertilization alone. In both 1993 and 1994, leaf N level indicated a separation of the 4 treatments although the unfertilized treatment was still vigorous with a leaf N level above 2.5%. Yields and fruit sizes were not affected by the treatments. After 2 to 4 months storage, fruit firmness correlated negatively with N levels, supporting the conclusions from the earlier survey. | |
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