THE EFFECT OF α-TOCOPHEROL AND GLYCEROL ON PREVENTING BLOSSOM FREEZING INJURY

-Tocopherol and glycerol were applied individually or in combination as an aqueous spray on whole apple trees (Malus domestica Borkh.), forced to the bloom stage in a greenhouse, and on flowering apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) branches taken from the field. The plant material was exposed both to artificial and natural freezing. The combination of -tocopherol and glycerol provided greater protection against freezing injury than each chemical alone. Glycerol was identified as a penetrating cryoprotectant by using isolated tomato fruit cuticles as a model system.