Effects of time of pruning on some characteristics of peach (Prunus persica (L.)) cvs. Flordabelle and Flordasun
1981
Niran Juntawong
The studies for 3 consecutive years with peaches [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] cvs. Flordabelle and Flordasun were done at the Royal Ang Khang Station, Chiang Mai Province. Pruning was conducted in May, August and October of every year. Shoot length; crown sizes; trunk circumference; flowering time; number of flowers; number of fruits; fruit weight; yield total soluble solids (TSS) and percent titratable acidity (TA) in fruit; total non-structural carbohydrate (TNC), total nitrogen and TNC-TN ratio contents in leaves, shoots and lateral buds were determined at different stages from pruning to harvesting. Results indicated that pruning in May, August and October caused the trees to become dwarf by reducing the shoot length, width and height of the crown. Plant growth was also restricted. August and October pruning caused a reduction in the number of flowers in both cultivars. In Flordabelle, the trees pruned in May and August flowered earlier than those pruned in October. Pruning in May, August and October reduced the number of fruits per tree, however, in all pruning times an increase in fruit weight was seen. Yields of the May-pruned trees were higher than the unpruned-trees whereas pruning in August and October reduced yields. The TSS and % TA contents of mature fruits were not significantly different at all pruning times in both cultivars. Pruning in May, August and October did not affect the TNC, TN and TNC-TN ratio in leaves. Pruning in May increased the TNC-TN ratio in shoots whereas this ratio decreased in lateral buds, and this TNC-TN ratio appeared to relate early flowering and increasing yields
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