Uniconazole reduces fruit set and hand-thinning, and increases fruit size in 'Canino' apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.).

摘要

The commercial apricot cultivar 'Canino', grown in Israel, is self-compatible and therefore sets large numbers of small fruit. Chemical thinning of blooms and fruitlets is not efficient in stone fruit, therefore hand-thinning of fruitlets has become normal commercial practice, although this is expensive, time-consuming, and not efficient. During 2006-2008, applications of uniconazole [a.i., E-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl-1-penten-3-ol)] at 50-100 mg l-1 [0.1-0.2% (v/v) MagicTM] at 30% of full bloom (FB), reduced fruit-set by approx. 50%. As a result, the time spent in hand-thinning was reduced, the crop load was reduced, and a larger fruit size was achieved (i.e., an 80-100% increase in fruit >50 mm). No impairment in return bloom the following year was observed.