Bioregulators, fruit loosening, mech harvest of sweet cherry
Author: Don C. Elfving
Published: 2009
Summary: The objectives of this project were: 1. GA may provide a tool for crop-load adjustment in sweet cherries by reducing return bloom, but it also affects the current season’s crop quality. Explore the possibility of finding a suitable GA program that both contributes to reduced return bloom and favorably affects current season’s fruit quality. 2. Alternative approaches to loosening sweet cherries for mechanical harvest will be explored using new bioregulator products that directly inhibit auxin transport from the fruit. When auxin transport is reduced, abscission layers are supposed to become active and loosening should occur. Such products might also be useful in conjunction with reduced rates of ethephon. Reducing the ethephon rate reduces its negative effects on fruit quality. 3. Alternative products will be examined for potential activity to offset or negate the negative effects of ethephon on fruit quality.
