Abstract
Calcium concentration and cold hardiness in woody shoots of young ‘Delicious’ apple trees increased during the first half of the dormant season by early-fall whole-tree application of bioregulators and/or plant protectant. Compared with untreated controls, the plant protectant, α-[(1,3-dioxolan-2-ylmethoxy) imino] benzene acetonitcile [Hytech Polymer, (formerly ProTecTM), Agro-K, Corp., Minneapolis, MN, USA] applied in September at 5 or 10% induced more cold hardiness in late October and November, whereas treating at 0.05% with the bioregulator, 2-chloroethyl-methyl-bis(phenylmethoxy)silane [CGA-15281, Novartis International AG, (formerly Ciba-Geigy Limited) Basel, Switzerland], induced greater cold hardiness and higher woody tissue calcium concentration in November and December. Applied in October, CGA-15281 resulted in woody tissue with the highest cold hardiness rating from November through March. From October 28 through 8 December, tissue from control trees had the lowest calcium concentration and frequently the least amount of cold hardiness. In woody stems of young apple trees, cold hardiness was more closely related to calcium concentration than that of the other eleven measured mineral elements; this was especially apparent from November to March (r = −0.856).
Published Version
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