Volume 56 Number 4 Article 38
Year 2002 Month 10
Title: Gibberellic Acid Increases Fruit Firmness, Fruit Size, and Delays Maturity of 'Sweetheart' Sweet Cherry
Authors: F. Kappel and R.A. MacDonald
Abstract:
Growers in British Columbia, Canada and the US Pacific Northwest use gibberellic acid (GA3) to
improve fruit quality of sweet cherries (Prunus avium L.). A single spray application of about three
weeks before harvest has become the standard procedure.
The objective of this trial was to determine
if multiple applications of GA3 can further increase fruit firmness and size, and delay maturity of 'Sweetheart' sweet cherry, the second most important sweet cherry cultivar in British Columbia.
Yield was not
affected by a single application of 20 or 30 ppm or two or three weekly applications of 10 ppm GA3 in
any of the three years of the trial.
Fruit treated with GA3 were significantly firmer than fruit not treated; however, there were no differences in fruit firmness amongst the single or multiple GA3 treatments.
Titratable acidity of GA3-treated fruit was significantly higher than that of untreated fruit.
There were
no differences in titratable acidity within the GA3 treated fruit.
Fruit treated with GA3 were significantly
larger than untreated fruit and the fruit treated with 20 ppm GA3 were larger than the fruit treated with
30 ppm GA3 (single applications). In summary, GA3-treated fruit could be harvested later and were
larger and firmer than untreated fruit.
There was no benefit to multiple applications of GA3 relative to
a single application.
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