Fruit Removal and Recovery during Citrus Harvesting are Improved when Abscission Agent Applications are Used with Mechanical Harvesters

Abstract

A study was initiated in `Hamlin' orange to determine if a selective citrus abscission material, 5-chloro-3-methyl-4-nitro-1H-pyrazole (CMNP), could improve mature fruit removal and recovery when used with mechanical harvesters. A trunk shaker and continuous-moving canopy shaker equipped with catch-frames were used at the flatwoods and ridge growing regions in Florida. Both trials were conducted during the first 2 weeks of Dec. 2003. Plots were constructed as randomized complete blocks containing four replicates for each treatment. Each replicate contained five trees at the ridge site or four trees at the flatwoods site. CMNP was applied using a commercial airblast sprayer at 0, 125, 250 and 500 mg·L-1 at a rate of 2,800 L·ha-1 4 days before scheduled harvest. The trunk shaker was operated for either 7 seconds or 2 seconds/tree, whereas the canopy shaker was operated at either 260 cpm or 140 cpm/tree. The data show that the correct time was selected for harvest. Over a 50% reduction in FDF was achieved with the 250 and 500 mg·L-1 treatments, while post-application fruit drop was less than 1.5%. The greatest benefit of abscission agent use was seen when the mechanical harvesters were operated at the least aggressive setting (2 seconds or 140 cpm), where increases in % fruit removal and recovery were over 20% higher than the controls. At the most aggressive settings, numeric increases in % fruit removal and recoveries were measured, but these changes were not statistically significant. The results demonstrated that statistically similar % fruit removal and recoveries could be achieved using less aggressive harvester settings with abscission agent use when compared with most aggressive settings using no abscission agent.