Effect of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) on Branching and Growing of Apple Sapling

According to the control, applications increased sapling height and this increasing was found important as statistically. Generally, bacteria applications more increase than Perlan on sapling height. Effect of bacteria and Perlan applications on sapling diameter showed different in cultivars and years. Generally, sapling diameter was increase by applications. Applications that on branching was important in 2009, but not important in 2010 as statistically. The most effective applications on branching were T8 and BA-8+T8 in ‘Granny Smith’, in ‘Red Delicious, Red Chief’ BA-8+T8 and BA-8, in ‘Fuji’ Perlan and BA-8 in 2009. Effect of applications on lateral branch degree was different in years and cultivars. According to the control, bacteria and Perlan applications raised length of lateral branch also bacteria was more effective than Perlan.Finally, plant growth promoting bacteria more increased branching and sapling quality than Perlan.     

Effects of position on canopy and harvest time on fruit physico-chemical and antioxidant properties in different apple cultivars

Fruit from Granny Smith, Fyriki, Fuji Kiku 8, and Imperial Double Red Delicious apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) trees planted in single or double rows, were harvested from different positions in the canopy, during the last month before commercial harvest. Fruit physico-chemical and antioxidant capacity, using the radical DPPH, were measured, in skin and flesh tissue. Greater total phenol content and total antioxidant capacity per fresh weight and serving portion of skin and flesh tissue, were found in Imperial Double Red Delicious and Fyriki apples, compared to Granny Smith and Fuji Kiku 8. The variation among cultivars in antioxidant contents was greater in peeled, compared with unpeeled fruit, highlighting the importance of eating unpeeled fruit. During the last two weeks before commercial harvest the total phenol content and total antioxidant capacity per fresh weight increased in skin of Granny Smith (by 24% and 42%, respectively) and Fuji Kiku 8 (by 19% and 27%, respectively). Fruit from the more sun—exposed parts of canopy had usually better red coloration and the effect was more pronounced in Fuji Kiku 8 and Fyriki, followed by Imperial Double Red Delicious and a lower effect was found in Granny Smith. Greater total soluble solid content, but not flesh firmness, were also found in fruit from the more sun—exposed parts of canopy, in all cultivars. The skin of fruit from the upper positions in the canopy had greater total phenol content and total antioxidant capacity, in all cultivars, apart from Fyriki. Antioxidant contents in flesh tissue were also greater in the upper positions of canopy in Fuji Kiku 8 and Imperial Double Red Delicious, and to our knowledge this is the first report on plant canopy effects on apple flesh antioxidant compounds.     

The King Fruit versus Lateral Fruit Thinning Effects on Yield and Fruit Quality in Apple

ABSTRACT

This research was conducted to determine the king versus lateral fruit thinning effects on yield and fruit quality of ‘Elstar’, ‘Granny Smith’, ‘Starkrimson Delicious’, ‘Ultra Red’, ‘Topred’, and ‘Jonagold’ apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) cultivars grafted on MM106 rootstock in 2002-2003. Removal of the king fruit (KFR) treatment partially increased the yield in ‘Jonagold’, ‘Elstar’, and ‘Granny Smith’ cultivars while the effects were different by years in “Starkrimson Delicious”. Leaving of the king fruit (KFL) treatment gave better results in the ‘Topred’ cultivar, and similar effects were obtained from both treatments in ‘Ultra Red’ cultivar. Non-significant differences were obtained from both treatments with respect to fruit weight in the ‘Topred’, ‘Starkrimson Delicious’, ‘Jonagold’ and ‘Granny Smith’ cultivars. Leaving of the king fruit treatment increased the fruit weight significantly in ‘Elstar’ and ‘Ultra Red’ cultivars in 2002. The values of fruit flesh firmness (lb), total soluble solids content (%), pH, titratable acidity (%), total and invert sugar quantity (g/100 g^?1) were not found to be significantly different between the treatments with a few exceptions. The ‘KFR’ treatment that removed the dominant effect of the king fruit can be recommended for the ‘Elstar’ and ‘Jonagold’ cultivars because this treatment increased the yield and did not decreased the fruit weight significantly in these cultivars except for ‘Elstar’ in 2002. On the other hand ‘KFL’ treatment can be recommended for the ‘Granny Smith’, Topred’ and ‘Ultra Red’ cultivars. Although this treatment decreased the yield of ‘Granny Smith’ it increased the mean fruit weight 45.6-62.7 g in the two experiment years. ‘Starkrimson Delicious’ did not show clear response to the treatments.     

Across- and along-row pollen dispersal in high-density apple orchards: Insights from allozyme markers

Summary

The organization of most high-density orchards of apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) into single-cultivar rows is often viewed as an impediment to effective pollen dispersal and pollination; however, few direct estimates of pollen dispersal are available to assess the extent of this problem. We estimated the magnitude of pollen dispersal across rows (pollinator cultivars: Idared, Vista Bella, Granny Smith), and along rows, (pollinator cultivars Fuji, Paulared, Golden Russet), in two high-density orchards in Ontario, Canada. Fruit were sampled from trees at regular intervals along transects that extended beyond (either across or along row) each pollinator cultivar and the percentage of seeds that were sired by the pollen donor was estimated using allozyme markers. Seeds sired by the pollinator cultivar were found from seven (‘Granny Smith’) to 18 rows (‘Idared’) from the nearest pollinator tree and from seven (‘Fuji’, ‘Paulared’) to five trees (‘Granny Smith’) down the same row. Measured in metres, the maximum pollen dispersal distance was greater across rows (62.4.m) than along rows (13.7.m). However, the average dispersal distance across rows, expressed in metres or trees, (17.4.±m.3.6, 3.6.±0.7 trees) did not differ from that along rows (5.8.m.±4.1, 2.7.±0.8 trees). These results are at odds with previous studies that indicate that honeybees move farther along rows than across, and have important implications for the design of commercial apple orchards.     

论我国苹果品种的更新问题

‘国光’、‘金冠’、‘红星’、‘倭巾’、‘青香蕉’、‘大国光’等是我国主要栽培的苹果品种:其中‘国光’在辽宁省占比重60%—70%,在山东及黄河故道地区占30%—40%,虽然‘国光’在辽东半岛和胶东半岛适应性强、产量高、耐贮藏,但果个小,着色差在国际市场上缺乏竞争力,而且在黄河故道地区裂果严重,急需进行更新,‘金冠’、‘红星’贮藏性差、‘倭巾’、‘青香蕉’、‘大国光’品质不良,作者根据苹果发展趋势和我国具体条件提出一套更新品种组合.认为‘红富士’、‘华冠’(‘金冠’ב富士’)和‘华帅’(‘富士’ב新红星’)应是我国今后主要更新的品种,三者在生产中所占比重应在80%—90%,后两个品种,一个可代替‘金冠’,一个则代替‘红星’.     

从国际上苹果品种发展的趋势看我国苹果品种的发展

详细介绍了当今国际上苹果品种发展的趋势和我国苹果品种发展的动态,指出富士在国际上青云直上,发展迅速;元帅系品种大走下坡路;华冠和华帅在我国中部地区发展迅猛;提出了我国苹果品种发展的战略设想.     

Obstkonsum in China �C Anbau, Angebot und Preise

As a Northern hemisphere fruit producer, China??s harvest time overlaps with that in Europe and the US and has been dominating the worldwide fruit market. Prices and sources of fruit in China were examined in supermarkets in Beijing in May 2011 and combined with the official Chinese Agricultural Yearbook to analyse China??s fruit industry:

1. China has become the world??s no 1 for apple (25?C30 mil. t), pear (13.5 mil. t) and Citrus (23 mil. t) production based on the Chinese statistical agricultural yearbook (2009), and no. 3 for strawberry (0.65?C0.8 mil. t), with an overall fruit production of 105?C113 mil. t/year and a tendency to increase domestic fruit production and consumption.
2. Fruit acreages, reported in 2009, were 2 mil. ha for apple, 1 mil. ha for pear (inclu-ding Nashi) and 2 mil. ha for Citrus and 0.083 mil. ha for strawberry totalling 10.7 mil. ha for fruit production in China, with a tendency towards slightly decreasing orchard acreage. The average farm size was ?£?0.5 ha.
3. Fruit consumption in China was calculated as 18?C21 kg apple/head/year, 10.1 kg pear/head/year (incl. Nashi) and 77?C81 kg fruit/head/year based on 1.33 billion inhabitants and production data; this is a rise in domestic fruit consumption from 45 kg in 2002/2003 to 77?C83 kg fruit/head/year in 2008/2009.
4. Jujube fruit yielded a farm gate price of 1.20 ?/kg and cv. ??Fuji?? apple 0.55 ?/kg (5 Yuan) as for most pome and stone fruit (with higher prices in the farm shop), which doubled to 1.10 ?/kg after sea export from Qingdao harbour to Rotterdam.
5. Prices for Chinese cv. ??Fuji?? apples in Beijing supermarkets ranged from ? 0.84/kg for a poor class II to ? 2.80/kg for class I fruit. Three (??Red Delicious??, ??Gala?? and ??Granny Smith??) out of five apple varieties on sale out-of-season in China??s Capital were imported from the US or Chile, with higher prices ranging from ? 3.25 for imported cv. ??Gala??, 4.15 ?/kg for ??Red Delicious?? to ? 4.90 for cv. ??Granny Smith??.
6. The Chinese viz Asian taste prefers large, juicy and sweet, red or yellow fruit with little acidity and smooth skin viz peel finish. Surprisingly, ??Granny Smith?? apples were sold as ??green apples?? without variety name at the highest price of all apple varieties.

     

Promoting branching in young trees of apple cv. Red Delicious using growth regulators

Summary

In two trials in the Huon Valley of Tasmania, a mixture of GA₄₊₇ and B A (Cytolin^®) was applied to one year old spur-bearing and non-spur-bearing apple trees cv. Red Delicious at concentrations of 0, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 ppm in an effort to increase branching. No effects were evident on the non spur-bearing trees, and therefore Cytolin cannot be recommended. Spur-bearing trees had quantifiable responses to Cytolin, with a higher branching percentage, and reduced branch and leader length. Average branch angle was significantly increased using 100 ppm Cytolin, thereafter decreasing with higher Cytolin concentrations. Present evidence concludes that Cytolin should be used at 100 ppm on spur-bearing ‘Red Delicious’ to promote branches of adequate length, wider angles and sufficiently above the grafting union.     

Effects of grafting height of MM106 rootstock on growth,lateral shoot formation and yield in apple trees

Summary

Between 2004 and 2008, the effects of different grafting heights on sylleptic shoots were tested in the apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) cultivars ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Gloster’, and cumulative fruit yields were evaluated. MM106 apple rootstocks were grafted 10, 20, 40, or 60 cm above soil level in August 2004. The results showed that an increased grafting height significantly decreased tree height in both cultivars. The tallest and shortest trees were observed at grafting heights of 10 cm (153.0 and 170.0 cm) and 60 cm (141.3 and 143.5 cm) in ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Gloster’, respectively.Among the various grafting heights tested, 60 cm in ‘Granny Smith’ and 20 cm in ‘Gloster’ gave the largest stem diameters (17.6 mm and 16.8 mm, respectively). The number of lateral shoots increased significantly with increased grafting height in both cultivars. The largest numbers of lateral shoots in ‘Granny Smith’ (10.75) and ‘Gloster’ (2.00) were obtained from a grafting height of 60 cm, while 2.55 and zero lateral shoots occurred at 10 cm grafting height in ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Gloster’, respectively. Shoot lengths decreased significantly by increasing the grafting height. Grafting heights of 10 cm and 60 cm resulted in the tallest and shortest shoots in both cultivars. Cumulative fruit yields were significantly affected by grafting height in both cultivars. The highest yield was found for a 60 cm grafting height in both ‘Granny Smith’ (11.295 kg tree^–1) and ‘Gloster’ (4.818 kg tree^–1).The results of this study suggest that grafting heights of 40 cm and 60 cm have the potential to promote branching and early bearing for apple fruit production in sustainable and organic agricultural systems.     

Effects of NAA and Carbaryl on Fruit Set and Return Bloom for Some Apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) Cultivars

Abstract

This research was conducted in 1997 and 1998 to investigate the effects of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) (5, 10, and 15 ppm), Carbaryl (1-naphthyl N-methylcarbamate) (750, 1000, and 1250 ppm), and NAA + Carbaryl (5 + 750, 7.5 + 750, and 10 + 750 ppm) applications on the return bloom of some standard apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) cultivars grafted on MM106 rootstock. Of these applications, 750 ppm Carbaryl for ‘Starkspur Golden Delicious’, 1250 ppm Carbaryl for ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Starkrimson Delicious’, and 5 ppm NAA for ‘Jonagold’ increased the mean number of flower buds significantly, compared with the control treatments. The other treatments of Carbaryl, NAA, and NAA + Carbaryl also increased the mean number of flower buds in a nonsignificant sense with a few exception. A negative correlation between the final fruit set and the mean number of next year's flower buds was found for three cultivars. The correlation coefficients were r = ?0.5150 (P< 0.05), r = ? 0.6999 (P< 0.05), r = ?0.0335 for ‘Starkspur Golden Delicious’, ‘Granny Smith’, and ‘Jonagold’ cultivars, respectively. However, this relationship was positive and nonsignificant for ‘Starkrimson Delicious’ (r = 0.1980).     

Estimation of the Colour Properties of Apples Varieties Using Neural Network

The consumer acceptance and the quality standard of agricultural products such as apple are determined mostly by their colour. Colour is measured with a colorimeter and quantified using the C.I.E. L^*, a^*, b^* colour space system. It is used commonly by researchers for the classification and identification of apple fruit. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first study investigating the prediction of some colour properties of six apple varieties through artificial neural networks (ANN). The apple varieties are ‘Amasya’, ‘Starking’, ‘Granny Smith’, ‘Pink Lady’, ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Arapk?z?’ and the colour properties are L^* (lightness), a^* (redness), b^* (yellowness), C^* (chroma), h^* (hue angle), CI (chroma index). General Regression Neural Networks (GRNN) and Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Interface System (ANFIS) structures were employed to predict the colour properties. According to the experimental and simulation results, the proposed ANFIS predictor had a superior performance in prediction of these colour parameters.     

Preharvest applications of ethephon reduce superficial scald of ‘Fuji’ and ‘Granny Smith’ apples in storage

In 1989 and 1990, preharvest applications of 2-chloroethyl phosphonic acid (ethephon) at dosages from 50–400 mg 1’1 were applied to ‘Fuji’ and ‘Granny Smith’ apples. In 1989, the greatest reduction in scald after storage on both ‘Fuji’ and ‘Granny Smith’, relative to the untreated control resulted from applying 400 mg 1^?1 ethephon five weeks before harvest and was 45% and 55% of controls, respectively. On ‘Granny Smith’ 400 mg 1^? was also effective when applied three weeks before harvest. In 1990, preharvest applications of ethephon at either 200 or 400 mg 1^?1 reduced scald in both cultivars relative to the controls. Ethephon applied six weeks before harvest had no dosage effect on scald reduction after storage. There was no consistent effect on fruit maturity at harvest from any treatment in either year, and no effect on quality of fruit out of storage.     

The Growth of Apple Central Fruits as Affected by Thinning with NAA,BA and Naphthenic Acids

Plant growth regulators such as α?naphthylacetic acid (NAA) or 6?benzyladenine (BA) are commonly used for thinning apple fruits. NAs exhibits an auxin- and gibberellin-type biological activity, stimulate the uptake and translocation of auxins in plant tissue, as well as IAA synthesis and act as surfactants. It was assumed that NAs applied at the stadium of early fruit growth might cause fruit abscission in apple, similarly to NAA. The goal of the research was to test the presumed thinning effect of naphthenic acids on apple cultivars ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Red Delicious’. Three treatments were applied on both apple cultivars including 16.5?μL L^?1 NAA, 200?μL L^?1?BA and 2.63?mg L^?1?potassium salts of NAs. Cortical cell size and the number of cell layers were measured in order to determine the contribution of cell size and cell division in early fruit growth, as affected by chemical thinning treatments. The effects of plant growth regulators NAA, BA and NAs on fruit set, fruit size and the anatomy of the fruit cortex highly depend on varietal differences. In ‘Golden Delicious’ fruit set reduction by chemical thinning increases both the number of cell layers and cell size of apple fruit, while in ‘Red Delicious’ NAA inhibits fruit growth, while BA is ineffective. Cell growth promoting activity of NAA and NAs, accompanied by the decrease in fruit set and reduced competition among fruits within the canopy, results in a significant fruit weight increase at harvest. The research confirms the auxinic properties of NAs, and their assumed thinning activity.     

Weinanbau – Viticulture

Data mining is used as a popular technique in several scientific researches. In agriculture, application of data mining is a relatively new approach. One of the most popular data mining approaches is to find prediction rules from experimental data sets. The present study was conducted in two stages to find out a rule for estimation of width of stalk cavity, depth of stalk cavity, width of eye basin and depth of eye basin of different apple varieties (‘Amasya’, ‘Starking’, ‘Granny Smith’, ‘Pink Lady’, ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Arapk?z?’) based on physical properties and to propose an equation for calculating these parameters. In the first stage, data processing was performed and in the second stage, Find Laws was used for prediction of apple properties. Current results revealed that data mining technique had a superior performance and could reliably be used in estimation of physical characteristics of agricultural products. Further research is recommended for possible use of datamining in other agricultural application.     

Performance of some apple cultivars under tropical Zambian conditions

Summary

Ten apple cultivars (Malus domestica Bork) Ein Shemer, Anna, Rome Beauty, Tropical Beauty, Alexander, Orleans, Winter Banana, Black John, Starking Delicious and Red Delicious were evaluated for their suitability for tropical Zambian conditions. Winter Banana, Black John, Starking Delicious and Red Delicious, which were mostly high-chill cultivars, showed poor vegetative development: delayed budbreak, shoot growth and progressive loss of vigour and most of the trees died before maturity. Of the remaining low-chill cultivars, ‘Ein Shemer’ had the highest fruit yield at 49 6 2.3 kg tree²¹ and ‘Alexander’ the lowest (5.3 6 1.0 kg tree²¹). This response was due to the high number of fruits per tree, ‘Ein Shemer’ had up to 907 6 83.7 per tree whereas low yielding cultivars like ‘Rome Beauty’ and ‘Tropical Beauty’ had fewer than 106 6 25.3 fruits per tree. The individual fruit weight was inversely related to the total number of fruits per tree. It ranged from 58 6 5.1 g in Ein Shemer to 191 6 24.8 g in ‘Rome Beauty’.     

Use of 6-benzylamino purine and Promalin for improved canopy development in selected apple cultivars

Foliar sprays of Promalin (gibberellins A_{4 + 7} + 6-benzylamino purine) applied to 1-year-old apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) trees at the 3–5-cm growth stage significantly increased lateral branching in 5 of 9 cultivars tested. Branching response ranged from 0% (‘Winter Banana’) to 131% (‘Starkrimson Delicious’) of the untreated controls. Total shoot growth was not consistently increased by 6-benzylamino purine or Promalin in tests over 3 years on spur and non-spur 1- and 2-year-old apple trees. Sprays of 50–300 mg l⁻¹ Promalin were ineffective for increased branch development. Sprays of 300–500 mg l⁻¹ increased total shoot numbers and reduced average shoot length. Sprays applied prior to new terminal growth in spring were ineffective. Treatment during periods of active shoot growth were generally effective, but periods of stress may have reduced response. Sprays were more effective for inducing lateral shoot formation than dormant heading or delayed dormant heading (pruning) (10 days after full bloom) in ‘Criterion Golden Delicious’. No difference in branching response was observed between BA and Promalin. Addition of a spray adjuvant (Buffer-X) did not affect branching response. Repeat annual single sprays of Promalin applied to dormant pruned trees were generally less effective for stimulating lateral branching than a single application in a given year. Phytotoxicity was associated with Promalin sprays at 300–500 mg l⁻¹ on ‘Delicious’.     

Einfluss selektiver mechanischer Fruchtbehangsregulierung auf Ethylensynthese als Stressindikator sowie Ertrag und Fruchtqualität bei Kernobst

The overall objective of this work was to improve fruit quality, break alternate bearing and reduce hand thinning using fewer chemicals in fruit crops. A device was constructed for mechanical thinning, which consisted of three independent horizontal rotors with ropes and freely adjustable angles on a frame, mounted on a front three point hitch and powered by the tractor hydraulics. This can be adapted to any fruit tree trained as spindle, Solaxe, (tall) vertical axis or fruit wall (le mur fruitier) irrespective of rootstock employed. Rotor speed varied from 300 to 460?rpm at either 5 or 7.5?km/h tractor speed. Eight-year-old or twelve-old apple trees cvs. ‘Gala’ and ‘Golden Delicious’ were mechanically thinned in 2007 between pink bud and full bloom (flower bud stages 6–8 or F1–F2) near Bonn, Germany; non-thinned and hand-thinned apple trees of the same block and variety served as control. Mechanically thinned flowering branches showed a similar amount of ethylene efflux (0.4–0.6?ppm C₂H₄/branch) as non-thinned flower branches, preventing potentially unexpected subsequent fruit drop, except for those removed by the rotors. The impact of the horizontal rotors on the branches was from the upper side and removed excessive flowers right to the tree trunk viz. the centre of the tree canopy, where fruits of lesser quality are expected leaving 2–3 flowers per cluster. Leaf damage was less than??10%, even at the fast rotor speed of 420?rpm, which was associated with negligible wood injury. Mechanical thinning induced firmer and sweeter fruit, i.e. tastier apples with longer shelf life, relative to control fruit from non-thinned apple trees. The greatest efficacy in terms of final fruit quality in the grading/sorting was achieved by a rotor speed of 360?rpm at a tractor speed of 5?km/h: Fruit mass increased by up to 20?g and the proportion of fruit larger than 70–75?mm by 10–30% compared with the fruit from non-thinned trees. Mechanical thinning with this newly constructed device led to a 10–20% reduction in yield, but increased returns due to better fruit size and colouration in apple with the potential to overcome alternate bearing.     

Comparison of Climate Change Effects on Pome And Stone Fruit Phenology Between Balkan Countries and Bonn/Germany

The objective of the joint project between the two universities of Bonn and Sarajevo was to study the effects of climate change associated with warmer winter and spring temperatures on fruit tree phenology. Changes in flowering date of apple and cherry were correlated with local weather data obtained concomitantly on-site at four locations in the Balkan countries Slovenia, Serbia, B & H and at Bonn, Germany.Phenological data of flower opening (F1; BBCH 61) of apple cv. ‘Golden Delicious’ originated from 55 years at Cacak (44?°N, Serbia) and at Klein-Altendorf, University of Bonn (50?°N), cv. ‘Bobovec’ from the University of Ljubljana (46?°N, Slovenia) and cherry cv. ‘Burlat’ (35 years at Klein-Altendorf, 50?°N) and 20–30 years at Tuzla (44?°N, B & H) and Mostar (43?°N, Bosnia & Herzegovina; B & H).The annual precipitation showed a negligible change in the last 55 years of ±5% in the Balkan countries (e.?g. Cacak, 699?mm), but only ±1.8% at Klein-Altendorf (605?mm) with a slight shift to more winter rainfall.Regression analysis showed an increase in mean temperature of 1.7?°C (annual) and 1.45?°C for the vegetation period at Klein-Altendorf (last 55 years), Germany. In the evaluated Balkan stations, the greatest increase in annual air temperature between two climate phases (until 1987 versus from 1988 until now) was at Ljubljana (1.4?°C) and Cacak (1.2?°C) in contrast to the least increase (0.3?°C) at Tuzla (annual average 10?°C) and an intermediate value (0.9?°C) in the warmer Mostar (annual average 14.5?°C).This recent temperature increase advanced flower opening by 10–14 days for apple such as cv. ‘Golden Delicious’ at Cacak and 7–10 days (last 55 years) at Bonn and 4–5 days (last 35 years) for the early cherry cv. ‘Burlat’ at Klein-Altendorf/Bonn; at Mostar and Tuzla, the effect of climate change was greater with the early cherry cv. ‘Burlat’ (26 days) compared with the difference of the late cherry cultivar (16 days). Before recent climate change (1973–1987), cherry flower was advanced by 10 days in the warmer med climate at Mostar but delayed by 16 days in the cooler Tuzla. The results, i.?e. the flower advancement in the Continental climate but flower delay in the med climate, are discussed with respect to the risk of late frost and countermeasures to combat climate change effects.     

Interaction of Maximum Daily Trunk Shrinkage and Fruit Quality in European Plum

Maximum daily trunk shrinkage (MDS) has been suggested as an appropriate indicator of plant water status because it is closely related to stem water potential. Interaction of MDS and fruit quality was studied in plum (Prunus domestica L. ‘Jojo’/Wavit and ‘Tophit plus’/Wavit) in temperate climate. According to the MDS data, trees were grouped as low MDS (LMDS) and high MDS (HMDS). Fruit quality was analysed during fruit development (95, 103, 117 DAFB for ‘Jojo’ and 99, 112, 121 DAFB for ‘Tophit plus’) before commercial harvest. Fruit picked at commercial harvest (137 DAFB and 140 DAFB for ‘Jojo’ and ‘Tophit plus’, respectively) were stored at 2 ± 0.5?°C (90 ± 2% RH) for 28 days, and 2 days shelf life at 20?°C providing 6 measuring dates postharvest. Results confirmed that MDS was positively correlated with water vapour pressure deficit also in the apparent temperate, semi-humid climate. Transpiration of fruit from high crop load and resulting HMDS trees, which can be assessed as physiologically drought, was low compared to that of fruit from LMDS trees. Furthermore, HMDS tree grown plums had enhanced soluble solids and dry matter contents with a tendency of reduced fruit size.