Treatments for improving tree growth, yield and fruit quality and for reducing double fruit and deep suture incidence in “Desert red” peach trees

M A Zayan,G B Mikhael,S K Okba

doi:10.31421/ijhs/22/3-4./1187

Abstract

Five years old “Desert red” peach trees budded on Nemaguard rootstock and grown in sandy soil at commercial orchard Al-Nubaria city, El-Behira Governorate-Egypt were treated with some agricultural treatments involving thinning out pruning, fruit thinning and foliar application of potassium silicate (25% S +10% K2O) at 0.1% and super grow (20% N, 20% P2O5 and 20% K2O) at 0.3% in 2014 and 2015 seasons, to study their effects on yield and fruit quality and the relationship between nutrient balance and yield of “Desert red” peach trees. Beside, testing the influence of used treatments on two physiological disorder, double fruit and deep suture %. Also, economic evaluation of different treatments was done. All obtained data were statistically analyzed using a randomized complete block design. Depending on the obtained results in this study, it could be concluded that application of thinning out pruning 35%, fruit thinning by leaving 15 cm between fruits on one-year old shoot at 20 days after full bloom and foliar application of potassium silicate which sprayed five times during each growing season at fruit set, the second fruit development stage, the beginning of the fruit color change and twice after month from harvest, most profitable treatment for peach trees grown under conditions of this investigation. This treatment gave the best vegetative growth, yield, fruit quality, higher crop value with high net income /fed. from “Desert red” peach trees, in addition, reduced the percentage of double fruit and deep suture by more than 50% in both seasons, therefore, the study recommends this treatment for “Desert red” peach growers.

Highlights

In Egypt, peach crop presents an important economic value and exporting potential
The present investigation was carried out two successive seasons 2014 and 2015 on five years old Desert red peach trees budded on Nemaguard rootstock and grown in sandy soil at commercial orchard, Al-Nubaria city, El-Behira Governorate-Egypt
The data revealed that increasing the depth from the top of desert red peach tree canopy toward center decreased the light penetration percentage

Summary

Introduction

According to (FAO, 2013) the area cultivated with peach in Egypt is 59960.72 feddans in which produced 281 814 tons/year. Peach gained its economic importance from these early and mid-season low chilling cultivars which introduced in last several years, mainly from the U.S.A by the Agriculture Development system (Shaltout, 1995). From these cultivars, the Desert red cultivar which is considered an early and low chilling one; it matures at third week of May under Egyptian conditions. The Desert red cultivar which is considered an early and low chilling one; it matures at third week of May under Egyptian conditions It exhibited a high adaptation with the local environmental conditions. Desert red peach tree cultivar suffers from some problems such as ; a-low fruit quality because of producing a large number of fruits that can set more than that is required to get commercial yield and thereby there is a negative impact on fruit size, and other fruit characteristics remain mediocre, the chemical characteristics of fruits such as sugar concentration and acidity unless dormant pruning and fruit thinning were done, and b-doubles and deep sutures which recognized as physiological disorders related to water stress either resulting from drought or deficit irrigation especially during bud differentiation after harvest in the previous season (Kader 2002).These disorders render fruits unmarketable, double fruits can be separated by hand thinning and sorting, deep sutures are intractable to expose on small fruitlets (Handley and Johnson, 2000)

Methods

Results

Conclusion