New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts

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Short communication: Exogenous gibberellin affects biennial bearing
and the fruit shape of `Braeburn' apple

STEVEN J. McARTNEY

The Horticulture and Food Research Institute
of New Zealand
Canterbury Research Centre
P. O. Box 51, Lincoln, New Zealand

Abstract  A single spray of either GA3 or GA4+7 at full bloom reduced the severity of the biennial bearing cycle of `Braeburn' apples, measured as the proportion of flowering spurs over the 2 years following treatment. Increasing the concentration of GA3 applied in the light-flowering year linearly reduced the proportion of flowering spurs in the following year and linearly increased the proportion of flowering spurs 2 years after application. The highest rate of GA3 (330 ppm) was not enough to eliminate any differences in the proportion of flowering spurs between light and heavy flowering years. All GA treatments elongated the fruit in the year of treatment.

Keywords  gibberellins; biennial bearing; apples; Malus domestica

New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 1994, Vol. 22: 343-346

0114-0671/94/2203-0343 $2.50/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 1994

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (265K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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