ISHS Acta Horticulturae 485: International Symposium Effect of Pre- & Postharvest factors in Fruit Storage
EFFECT OF BORON FERTILIZATION ON THE STORAGE ABILITY OF APPLES (MALUS DOMESTICA BORTH.) |
| Authors: | P. Wójcik, A. Mika, G. Cieslinski |
| Keywords: | boron fertilisation, apple tree, storage ability |
| Abstract:
The aim of the work was to examine the effect of boron fertilisation on apple storage ability. The experiment was carried out during three years (1994–1996) with Šampion cultivar grafted on M.26 rootstocks. Apple trees were planted in the spring of 1991 at the distance of 4 x 2m on sandy-loam soil with 0.36 ppm of available boron in the top layer (0 – 20cm). Boron fertiliser was applied to the soil at a rate of 2 kg B per ha in the form of boric acid. Boron foliage sprays were applied before or after bloom, using 0.4% boric acid solution. Trees without any boron fertilisation served as a control. Immediately after harvest, fruit were placed in cold storage and stored for 150 days. The results show that boron fertiliser did not influence fruit maturity at harvest, in comparison with the control. There were no significant differences between treatments during storage, when fruit weight losses were analysed. However, sprays with boron after bloom increased fruit firmness and decreased incidence of bitter pit, internal breakdown and Glaeosporium-rot during storage. | |
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