Inducing Precocious Cropping On Young Dr. Jules Guyot Pear Trees with Gibberellic Acid

A single spray of gibberellic acid (GA) at blossom time doubled the final set and yield of 4-year-old Dr. Jules Guyot trees without reducing the fruit size. GA affected the fruit shape, but this was detrimental only at a high concentration (100 p.p.m.) ; it also hastened fruit ripening by about a week and increased the percentage of seedless fruits. Although a heavy spray at 50 p.p.m. had the most effect, a light spray at the same concentration was more effective in conserving the plants’ resources by avoiding the early development of an excessive number of fruitlets prior to the June drop.

The total shoot growth, the number of shoots and buds, and the girth increment were reduced by GA at 50 p.p.m. applied as a heavy spray but the mean length of shoots and internodes remained unaffected.