Improving fruit coloration of horticultural crops
The aim of this research was to improve inner and external fruit quality and fruit coloration using four-year-old apple cultivar 'Braeburn Hillwell' trees on M9 (3×1 m spacing) by employing reflective ground covers at Klein-Altendorf near Bonn, Germany (50°N). Reflective ground covers were spread out on both sides of tree rows seven weeks before anticipated harvest.
Adjacent trees of the same row without reflective ground cover served as control.
For the first time, we compared two reflective mulches(woven textiles). Apple trees with Extenday® and Lumilys® also produced 69 and to 44% well-colored fruit (with 75-100% fruit coloration) compared with 16-26% in the control.
There was no acceleration of ripening in plots with reflective ground covers compared with the control.
There were no differences in sugar contents (°Brix) and fruit firmness (kg cm‑2), but starch breakdown in fruit with reflective mulch was significantly delayed compared with the control resulting in retarded maturation.
An economic analysis based on material costs and lifespan - excluding the labor costs for spreading and removing the ground covers - showed an economic advantage, if these mulches are used more than once a year.
Schuhknecht, H., Kunz, A., Damerow, L. and Blanke, M.M. (2019). Improving fruit coloration of horticultural crops. Acta Hortic. 1242, 639-644
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2019.1242.94
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2019.1242.94
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2019.1242.94
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2019.1242.94
apple (Malus domestica Borkh.), fruit coloration, fruit quality, light reflection, reflective mulch, PAL, Streif index
English
1242_94
639-644
- Division Plant Genetic Resources and Biotechnology
- Division Temperate Tree Fruits
- Division Temperate Tree Nuts
- Division Vine and Berry Fruits
- Division Ornamental Plants
- Division Vegetables, Roots and Tubers
- Division Physiology and Plant-Environment Interactions of Horticultural Crops in Field Systems
- Division Protected Cultivation and Soilless Culture
- Division Postharvest and Quality Assurance
- Division Precision Horticulture and Engineering