Effect of ethephon on uniform ripening and fruit quality of Japanese apricot (Prunus mume sieb. Et. Zucc.)
1998
Pichit Sripinta | Suranant Subhadrabandhu | Tawatchai Sasiphalin (Chiang Mai Royal Agricultural Research Center, Chiang Mai (Thailand))
Study on applying ethephon to 15 year old low-chill Japanese apricot trees cv. Ping Ting was conducted at the Royal Ang Khang Station, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand Ethephon concentration at the rates of 0, 200, 400, 600 and 800 ppm were sprayed to cover the whole tree canopy at 100 days after full bloom. Three harvests were applied in all treatments. It was found that ethephon at 200-800 ppm induced more harvested fruits than that of the control tree in the first two harvesting times i.e. 2-3 weeks after the application. However, the total number of fruits in all three harvests was lower in the ethephon treated trees. Ethephon treated trees tended to produce more cracked fruits and high percent of unmarketable fruits at harvest. Ethephon did not have any effect on the percent of gummosis fruits. High concentration of ethephon at 600 ppm and above produced higher percent of fruit drop as compared to those of the control trees. No significant difference was found among the treatments in fruit size, fruit weight and fruit dimension of the harvested fruits. Trees treated with ethephon produced fruits with lower total soluble solids and less total titratable acid contents compared to those of the control trees. Less flesh firmness was markedly found in fruits from the ethephon treated trees. Ethephon at the concentration of 600 ppm and above can cause damage to the trees as leaf falling, burning and die back of young shoots as well as gummosis of the branches.
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