The Impact of New Blossom Thinners and Hand-thinned on Fruit Quality and Quantity in Peach cv. Alberta and Nectarine cv. Sun King

Figures & data

Table 1. Effects of blossom thinning treatments on ‘Alberta’ peach fruit set, weight, size and yield in 2015–2016^a

Treatment	Fruit Set (%)	Fruit wt (g)	Fruit size (cm^3)	Yield (kg/tree)
Control	47.43 a	109.46 f	70.58 f	123.29 a
Bloom Hand Thinned	15.65 c	188.30 a	124.57 a	100.21 c
Fruit Hand Thinned	13.88 c	166.85 bc	113.37 bc	101.31 c
L-s 6% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil once at 80% bloom	35.69 b	140. 28 de	102.09 c	109. 39 bc
L-s 8% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil once at 80% bloom	28.74 bc	158.33 cd	103.64 c	104.55 bc
L-s 6% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil at 30% and 80% bloom	20.79 c	144.47 de	109.44 c	100.25 c
ATS 20 ml.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	45.21 a	148.84 de	91.02 d	85.41 d
ATS 25 ml.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	31.74 b	156.68 cd	91.54 d	90.74 cd
ATS 20 ml.L^−1 at 30% and 80% bloom	21.67 c	174.26 ab	113.57 bc	112.85 b
Apogee 300 mg.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	51.33 a	110.60 f	80.58 e	120.52 a
Apogee 450 mg.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	55.28 a	118.17f	81.71 e	117.95 a
Apogee 300 mg.L^−1 at 30% and 80% bloom	43.58 a	134.42 e	83.72 e	118.76 a

^aMean followed by the same letter are not significantly different by the protected LSD, P ≤ 0.01.

Table 2. Effects of blossom thinning treatments on ‘Alberta’ peach yield in 2015 and 2016^a

Treatment	2015	2016
Control	131.7 a	114.88 a
Bloom Hand Thinned	105.49 c	94.93 b
Fruit Hand Thinned	104.95 c	97.67 b
L-s 6% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil once at 80% bloom	119.05 b	99.73 b
L-s 8% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil once at 80% bloom	111.56 b	97.54 b
L-s 6% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil at 30% and 80% bloom	102.77 c	97.73 b
ATS 20 ml.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	92.01 d	78.81 c
ATS 25 ml.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	94.85 cd	86.63 bc
ATS 20 ml.L^−1 at 30% and 80% bloom	121.07 ab	104.63 ab
Apogee 300 mg.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	126.02 a	115.02 a
Apogee 450 mg.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	127.12 a	108.78 a
Apogee 300 mg.L^−1 at 30% and 80% bloom	127.39 a	110.13 a

^aMean followed by the same letter are not significantly different by the protected LSD, P ≤ 0.01.

Table 3. Effects of blossom thinning treatments on ‘Alberta’ peach soluble solids, total acidity, TSS/TA and fruit color in 2015–2016^a

Treatment	Soluble Solids (%)	Total Acidity (mg/100ml)	TSS/TA	Fruit Color (1–5)
Control	10.33 b	4.56 a	2.26 b	2.99 b
Bloom Hand Thinned	14.23 a	3.39 a	4.19 a	4.77 a
Fruit Hand Thinned	13.84 a	3.59 a	3.85 a	4.12 a
L-s 6% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil once at 80% bloom	11.38 b	4.44 a	2.56 b	3.09 b
L-s 8% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil once at 80% bloom	13.89 a	3.57 a	3.89 a	4.01 ab
L-s 6% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil at 30% and 80% bloom	13.03 a	3.76 a	3.47 a	4.33 a
ATS 20 ml.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	10.29 b	3.65 a	2.82 ab	4.13 a
ATS 25 ml.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	12.84 ab	4.42 a	2.90 ab	4.25 a
ATS 20 ml.L^−1 at 30% and 80% bloom	13.99 a	3.31 a	4.22 a	3.27 a
Apogee 300 mg.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	10.37 b	4.53 a	2.29 b	3.17 b
Apogee 450 mg.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	11.21 b	4.49 a	2.49 b	3.05 b
Apogee 300 mg.L^−1 at 30% and 80% bloom	11.66 b	3.51 a	3.32 b	3.56 ab

^aMean followed by the same letter are not significantly different by the protected LSD, P ≤ 0.01.

Table 4. Effects of blossom thinning treatments on ‘Sun King’ nectarine fruit set, weight, size and yield in 2015–2016^a

Treatment	Fruit Set (%)	Fruit wt (g)	Fruit size (cm^3)	Yield (kg/tree)
Control	44.83 a	110.55 d	76.31 d	118.28 a
Bloom Hand Thinned	12.63 c	175.61 a	120.49 a	113.79 a
Fruit Hand Thinned	18.72 c	166.05 b	116.41 ab	111.07 ab
L-s 6% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil once at 80% bloom	42.01 ab	146.76 c	103.64 bc	99.92 ab
L-s 8% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil once at 80% bloom	31.16 b	159.03 b	109.09 b	103.55 ab
L-s 6% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil at 30% and 80% bloom	22.39 c	168.09 ab	114.84 ab	106.99 ab
ATS 20 ml.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	38.06 b	141.16 c	98.88 bc	93.68 b
ATS 25 ml.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	29.36 b	156.61 bc	102.02 b	97.39 ab
ATS 20 ml.L^−1 at 30% and 80% bloom	19.13 c	157.74 bc	107.16 b	100.26 ab
Apogee 300 mg.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	46.96 a	108.77 d	75.08 d	113.52 a
Apogee 450 mg.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	51.43 a	108.12 d	70.63 d	110.95 ab
Apogee 300 mg.L^−1 at 30% and 80% bloom	46.02 a	111.58 d	79.24 d	117.76 a

^aMean followed by the same letter are not significantly different by the protected LSD, P ≤ 0.01.

Figure 1. Change in fruit size of nectarine “Sun King” for various treatments as a function of time in 2015–2016

Figure 2. Change in fruit weight of nectarine “Sun King” for various treatments as a function of time in 2015–2016

Figure 3. Change in fruit size of peach “Alberta” for various treatments as a function of time in 2015–2016

Figure 4. Change in fruit weight of peach “Alberta” for various treatments as a function of time in 2015–2016

Table 5. Effects of blossom thinning treatments on ‘Sun King’ nectarine yield in 2015 and 2016^a

Treatment	2015	2016
Control	127.49 a	109.07 a
Bloom Hand Thinned	119.74 ab	107.84 a
Fruit Hand Thinned	118.69 ab	103.45 ab
L-s 6% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil once at 80% bloom	104.8 c	93.04 bc
L-s 8% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil once at 80% bloom	112.19 b	94.91 bc
L-s 6% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil at 30% and 80% bloom	113.19 b	100.79 b
ATS 20 ml.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	96.78 c	90.58 c
ATS 25 ml.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	102.53 c	92.25 c
ATS 20 ml.L^−1 at 30% and 80% bloom	108.69 bc	91.83 c
Apogee 300 mg.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	120.45 a	106.59 a
Apogee 450 mg.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	118.06 ab	103.84 ab
Apogee 300 mg.L^−1 at 30% and 80% bloom	125.89 a	109.63 a

^aMean followed by the same letter are not significantly different by the protected LSD, P ≤ 0.01.

Table 6. Effects of blossom thinning treatments on ‘Sun King’ nectarine soluble solids, total acidity, TSS/TA and Fruit Color in 2015–2016^a

Treatment	Soluble Solids (%)	Total Acidity (mg/100ml)	TSS/TA	Fruit Color (1–5)
Control	9.17 b	5.02 a	1.83 b	3.01 b
Bloom Hand Thinned	13.71 a	4.29 a	3.19 a	4.27 a
Fruit Hand Thinned	14.68 a	3.99 a	3.68 a	4.03 a
L-s 6% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil once at 80% bloom	10.52 ab	5.11 a	2.06 ab	2.87 b
L-s 8% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil once at 80% bloom	14.99 a	5.09 a	2.94 a	3.09 b
L-s 6% and 10 ml.L^−1 Fish Oil at 30% and 80% bloom	13.03 a	4.26 a	3.06 a	3.77 ab
ATS 20 ml.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	8.98 b	3.87 a	2.32 ab	3.12 b
ATS 25 ml.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	13.62 a	4.69 a	2.90 a	3.01 b
ATS 20 ml.L^−1 at 30% and 80% bloom	13.04 a	5.46 a	2.39 ab	3.77 ab
Apogee 300 mg.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	8.85 b	5.34 a	1.66 b	3.55 b
Apogee 450 mg.L^−1 once at 80% bloom	8.44 b	4.91 a	1.72 b	3.35 b
Apogee 300 mg.L^−1 at 30% and 80% bloom	10.53 ab	4.08 a	2.58 ab	3.76 ab

^aMean followed by the same letter are not significantly different by the protected LSD, P ≤ 0.01.