Ethephon as a Blossom and Fruitlet Thinner Affects Crop Load, Fruit Weight, Fruit Quality, and Return Bloom of ‘Summerred’ Apple (Malus ×domestica) Borkh.

Abstract

‘Summerred’ apples (Malus domestica Borkh.) are highly susceptible to biennial bearing if not properly thinned. This results in erratic yields and also affects fruit quality adversely. Between 2003 and 2005, ‘Summered’/‘M9’ trees were treated with ethephon at concentrations of 250, 375, and 500 mg·L−1 when most king flowers opened (≈20% bloom) or at concentrations of 500, 625, and 750 mg·L−1 when the average fruitlet size was 10 mm in diameter. The experiment was conducted with 2.5-m height slender spindle trees sprayed to the point of runoff with a hand applicator only when temperatures exceeded 15 °C. Within 2 weeks after the second application, fruit set was reduced linearly with increasing concentrations of ethephon to less than one fruitlet per cluster at the highest concentrations used. Most thinning treatments reduced fruit set significantly compared with unthinned trees. Fruit numbers per tree decreased significantly with increasing ethephon concentrations, and the highest concentrations of ethephon applied during bloom or when the average fruitlet size was 10 mm in diameter resulted in overthinning. Yield results confirmed the fruit set response in which yield reductions were significant at the highest concentrations of ethephon (2.1 kg/tree) compared with hand-thinned trees (7.3 kg/tree) in 2005. All thinning treatments resulted in higher percentage of fruits larger than 60 mm diameter compared with unthinned control fruit. Thinning resulted in significantly higher soluble solid contents, and this was especially so for hand-thinned trees. Other fruit quality parameters like yellow–green background color did not show a clear response to thinning. Return bloom was, however, improved on all thinned trees. It is recommended that ethephon be applied at a rate of 375 mg·L−1 when king flowers open or at a rate of 625 mg·L−1 when the average fruitlet size is 10 mm in diameter. This thins ‘Summerred’ apples to a target of approximately five fruits/cm2 per trunk cross-sectional area or 50 to 70 fruits per 100 flower clusters without impacting on fruit quality, yield, or return bloom the next year.