Plant-derived nutrient solution improves thinning effect on pear flowers and fruits

Abstract

Pear (Pyrus pyrifolia (Burm. f.) cv. Nak.) is cultivated worldwide, with China ranking as the top producer of Asian pear. Pear trees often waste a lot of nutrients during the growing process, due to the large number of flowers on the trees. Traditional thinning methods to reduce flower number are often laborious and time-consuming and affect fruit quality. Here, we investigated the use of plant-derived nutrient solution (PDNS), a liquid organic fertilizer that is made from naturally fallen tree fruit, as a thinning agent. PDNS was sprayed onto two pear cultivars, ‘Whangkeumbae’ and ‘Hosui’ during bud, flower and fruit stage. We observed that the thinning effect of PDNS was significantly greater than that of widely used chemical thinning agents and that PDNS can promote pear tree vegetative growth and fruit quality. The work described in this report lays a foundation for developing protocols using environmentally benign thinning agents in organic fruit production.