ISHS Acta Horticulturae 736: III International Date Palm Conference
EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT METHODS AND DEGREES OF FRUIT THINNING ON YIELD AND FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS OF BARHEE DATE CULTIVAR |
| Authors: | S. Marashi, A. Mousavi |
| Keywords: | fruit drop, fruit quality, fruit ripening, kimri, khalal and rotab stages |
| Abstract:
Barhee is one of the most desirable date cultivars of Iran grown in Khouzestan province. It is mainly consumed at khalal stage. To study the effects of different methods and degrees of fruit thinning on yield and fruit characteristics of this cultivar an experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with 7 treatments and 4 blocks in Ahwaz region in 2004. At first, the 8 leaves to 1 bunch ratio was applied for uniformity and then thinning treatments were done at the beginning of kimri stage (6 weeks after pollination). The treatments were: removal of one third of the strand length; removal of one fourth of the strand length; removal of one third of the entire central strands; removal of one fourth of the entire central strands; removal of one fourth of the bunches; removal of half the bunches; and control (without thinning). At the beginning of rotab stage, the percentage of fruits at khalal and rotab stages were calculated in each palm. Fruit characteristics and yield at khalal stage were measured. The results showed that the thinning treatments had no significant effect on fruit weight, volume, length and diameter, seed weight, length and diameter, pulp to seed ratio, percentages of fruit water content, TSS, total sugar and fruit ripening. Furthermore, removal of one third and one fourth of the entire central strands and removal of one fourth and half the bunches resulted in significant decrease in palm fruit yield. According to the results, fruit thinning at the beginning of kimri stage is not recommended for improving Barhee fruit quality. | |
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