Fruit thinning with Brevis^® and Exilis^® on apple cultivar ‘Nicoter’

© 2018 International Society for Horticultural Science. All Rights Reserved. For apple cultivar ‘Nicoter’ it is important to avoid an excessive crop load, since this results in a small fruit size that can not be sold under the trademark name Kanzi®. Hence, reliable fruit thinning strategies are important to improve the profitability of this crop. The efficacy of the thinning agents 6-benzyladenine (Exilis®) and metamitron (Brevis®) was evaluated on ‘Nicoter’ in 2015. Although no significant fruit thinning was observed due to strong natural flower drop and unfavorable climatic conditions in that year, the best results for fruit size and fruit quality were obtained when Brevis® was applied twice. We furthermore measured chlorophyll fluorescence after Brevis® application to determine the time period that the photosystem of the trees is affected by the Brevis® application.

Publication year:2018