Mechanical thinning of fruits and flowers in peach trees
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5965/223811711922020230Keywords:
bioactive compounds, thinning cost, productivity, fruit quality, Prunus persica, manual thinningAbstract
Techniques that improve process efficiency are important to reduce the operational cost of orchards. Two mechanical devices were tested to verify the efficiency of peach tree thinning and the influence on fruit production and quality characteristics. The experiment was conducted using the Maciel cultivar in a commercial orchard in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The treatments consisted of mechanical flower blossom thinning using the Carpa ElectroTM and “trimming” equipment; mechanical fruit thinning using the “trimming” equipment; and manual fruit thinning. The mechanical thinning associated with manual thinning of peach trees may be a viable alternative to manual thinning since it reduces the execution time. Both equipment can be used for mechanical thinning since they didn't change the production per plant, number of fruits per plant, fruit mass, fruit diameter, physicochemical characteristics, and bioactive compounds of the fruits.
Downloads
References
AOAC. 2005. Association of Official Analytical Chemistry. Official methods of analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemistry. 18.ed. Washington: AOAC.
ALCOBENDAS R et al. 2013. Effects of irrigation and fruit position on size, colour, firmness and sugar contents of fruits in a mid-late maturing peach cultivar. Scientia Horticulturae 164: 340-347.
ASSIRELLI A et al. 2018. Evaluation of the detachment force needed for mechanical thinning of green peach fruits. Sustainability 10: 2291.
ASTEGGIANO L et al. 2015. Bloom mechanical thinning improves fruit quality and reduces production costs in peach. Acta Horticulturae 1084: 389-394.
BARRETO CF et al. 2019. Raleio mecânico como alternativa no cultivo de pessegueiros Revista de Ciências Agrárias 42: 502-508.
BARRETO CF et al. 2018. Effect of chemical thinning using 6-benzyladenine (BA) on Maciel peach (Prunus persica L.). Australian Journal of Crop Science 12: 980-984.
BARRETO CF et al. 2017. Agronomic performance of the Maciel peach with different rootstocks. Semina: Ciências Agrárias 38: 1217-1228.
BRAND-WILLIAMS W et al. 1995. Use of a free radical method to evaluate antioxidant activity. Food Science and Technology 28: 25-30.
BUSSI C & GENARD M. 2014. Thinning and pruning to overcome alternate bearing in peach trees. European Journal of Horticultural Science 79: 313-317.
CONAB. 2017. Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento. Custo de produção de pessegueiro. Disponível em: https://www.conab.gov.br/info-agro/custos-de-producao/planilhas-de-custo-de-producao/itemlist/category/405-planilhas-de-custos-de-producao-culturas-permanentes?start=10. Acesso em: 29 abr. 2019.
DESHMUKH NA et al. 2017. Effect of thinning time and fruit spacing on fruit maturity, yield, size, peel colour and quality attributes of peach cv. Flordasun. Indian Journal of Horticulture 74: 45-50.
FERREIRA LV et al 2016. Qualidade de pêssegos submetidos à adubação nitrogenada. Revista Iberoamericana de Tecnología Postcosecha 17: 231-240.
FERREIRA DF 2014. Sisvar: a guide for its Bootstrap procedures in multiple comparisons. Ciência e Agrotecnologia 38: 109-112
GIOVANAZ MA et al. 2016. Gibberellic acid reduces flowering and time of manual thinning in ‘Maciel’ peach trees. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura 38: 1-10.
INSTITUTO ADOLFO LUTZ. 2008. Métodos químicos e físicos para análise de alimentos. 4.ed. São Paulo: Instituto Adolfo Lutz. 1020p.
MARTIN B et al. 2010. Post-bloom thinning of peaches for canning with hand-held mechanical devices. Scientia Horticulturae 125: 658-665.
MARTIN-GORRIZ B et al. 2011. Feasibility of peach bloom thinning with hand-held mechanical devices. Scientia Horticulturae 129: 91-97.
MILLER SS et al. 2011. Performance of mechanical thinners for bloom or green fruit thinning in peaches. Hortscience 46: 43-51.
OLIVEIRA PD et al. 2017. Heading of shoots and hand thinning of flowers and fruits on ‘BRS Kampai’ peach trees. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira 52: 1006-1016.
SAUERTEIG KA & CLINE JA. 2013. Mechanical blossom thinning of ‘Allstar’ peaches influences yield and quality. Scientia Horticulturae 160: 243-250.
SIMÕES MP et al. 2013. Monda mecânica de flores com equipamento electro’flor em pessegueiros da cultivar ‘Rich Lady’. Revista de Ciências Agrárias 363: 297-302.
SINGLETON VL & ROSSI JR JA. 1965. Colorimetry of total phenolic with phosphomolybdic-phosphotungstic acid reagents. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 16: 144-158.
TURK BA et al. 2014. Tergitol as a possible thinning agent for peach cv. Redhaven. Horticultural Science 41: 49-54.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Revista de Ciências Agroveterinárias (Journal of Agroveterinary Sciences)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors publishing in this journal are in agreement with the following terms:
a) Authors maintain the copyrights and concede to the journal the copyright for the first publication, according to Creative Commons Attribution Licence.
b) Authors have the authority to assume additional contracts with the content of the manuscript.
c) Authors may supply and distribute the manuscript published by this journal.
