ISHS Acta Horticulturae 792: V International Symposium on Irrigation of Horticultural Crops
FRUIT QUALITY DISORDERS IN AN EARLY MATURING PEACH CULTIVAR CAUSED BY POSTHARVEST WATER STRESS |
| Authors: | R.S. Johnson, B.C. Phene |
| Keywords: | double fruit, deep sutures, split pits, mite damage, sunburn, deficit irrigation, water savings, stem water potential |
| Abstract:
One strategy for saving water in an early ripening peach or nectarine cultivar is to withhold irrigation water after harvest. Some early cultivars are harvested as early as May, so the potential for water savings is substantial. Several reports in the literature have shown this strategy can be imposed with no reduction in yield or apparent damage to the trees. However, there is generally an increase in fruit disorders such as doubles and deep sutures the following year. If water stress is relieved late in the summer these fruit defects can often be minimized. There is some uncertainty as to the best timing for relieving stress in the summer. Therefore, we initiated an experiment to test postharvest water stress treatments on a late May harvested peach cultivar, 'Crimson Lady'. Six different treatments were imposed that withheld varying amounts of irrigation water during the June-July or the August-September period in 2004 and 2005. Stem water potential (SWP) readings were taken regularly to measure stress in the trees. All the stress treatments caused some type of problem the next year compared to the fully irrigated control. Double fruit, deep sutures and external split pits were significantly increased in at least one treatment, although the results were not consistent between the two years. Mite and sunburn damage were also increased in several of the treatments. It is concluded that none of the treatments would be recommended as a standard practice. However, under water limiting conditions, the results of this experiment suggest the best strategy to be one of withholding water during the June-July period and then fully irrigating during August and September. | |
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