Effects of Lime-sulfur, ammonium thiosulfate and Apogee in order to fruit thinning and improve the quality and quantity characteristics of peach ʻRed havenʼ

Document Type : Full Paper

Authors

1 Former Graduate Student , Department of Horticultural Sciences, University of Zanjan, Zanjan

2 Associate Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, University of Zanjan, Zanjan

3 . Instructor, Isfahan Research Center for Agricultural Academic member, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Thinning operations is essential to produce quality products in peach cultivation. Inefficiencies due to the high cost of hand thinning and mechanical thinning increased tendency to chemical thinning. In order to study the effect of lime sulfur (6%, 8% and 6% twice), ammonium thiosulfate (20, 25, 20 mL/L twice) and Apogee regulator (300, 400 and 300 mg/L twice) as thinning agents on fruit quantitative and qualitative characteristics of peach ʻRed havenʼ, a research was carried out in a commercial orchard on selected uniform Six-year-old trees in Semirom, Isfahan, Iran in 2012-2013. Results showed that all of the treatments, but Apogee (300 and 450 mg/L) significantly thinned the fruits and reduced fruit set up to 65 percent. Treatments increased fruit weight, volume (45- 50 percent), total soluble solids (TSS) and color and also enhanced leaf area index (LAI). However, there was no significant differences among control and the treatments for total fruit acidity. Trees treated with ATS (20 ml/l twice) and lime sulfur (6% twice) showed relatively best of quantitative and qualitative characteristics.
 

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