Abstract
BACKGROUND: Apple 'Golden Delicious Reinders' and 'Gala Mondial' trees were mechanically blossom-thinned with 30-77 x g (300-480 rpm rotation) and 5 or 7.5 km h(-1) vehicle speed to improve fruit quality, minimise leaf damage, reduce hand and chemical thinning and to prevent or overcome alternate bearing; adjacent untreated or manually thinned apple trees served as controls. RESULTS: Mechanical thinning (43 x g, 360 rpm, 5-7.5 km h(-1)) had a positive effect on fruit size (15% larger), firmness (8.4 in Gala vs. 7.6 kg cm(-2) in the unthinned control), sweetness (124 vs. 117 g kg(-1) sugar in the control), contained the largest malic acid content (4 g kg(-1) vs. 3.4 g kg(-1) in the control) and 17% more anthocyanin (normalised anthocyanin index = 0.8 in Gala vs. 0.7 in the control); fruit of Golden and Gala showed additionally advanced starch breakdown and ripened earlier. CONCLUSIONS: Since increases in rotor speed, viz. centrifugal force, versus increases in the vehicle speed resulted in opposing effects, an integrated coefficient of thinning (ICT) was devised with optimum values of 10-40 (at 43 x g, 5-7.5 km h(-1)), where an ICT > 50 led to tree damage and ICT < 8 led to sub-optimum thinning efficacy.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical thinning increased fruit size by 15%.
- Taxon
- apples
Malus domesticat0 - Treatment
- Mechanical thinning (43 x g, 360 rpm, 5-7.5 km h(-1))e0
- Outcome
- fruit sizee0
- Direction
- largere0
- Value
- 15%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Mechanical thinning (43 x g, 360 rpm, 5-7.5 km h(-1)) had a positive effect on fruit size (15% larger)”
t0“apples”
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical thinning raised Gala firmness to 8.4 versus 7.6 kg cm(-2) in controls.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Material
- Galae0
- Treatment
- Mechanical thinninge1
- Outcome
- firmnesse0
- Direction
- higherinferrede0
- Value
- 8.4e0
- Qualifier
- 7.6 kg cm(-2)e0
- Comparator
- unthinned controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“firmness (8.4 in Gala vs. 7.6 kg cm(-2) in the unthinned control)”
t0“apples”
e1“Mechanical thinning (43 x g, 360 rpm, 5-7.5 km h(-1)) had a positive effect on fruit size (15% larger)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical thinning raised sweetness to 124 versus 117 g kg(-1) sugar.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- Mechanical thinninge1
- Outcome
- sweetnesse0
- Direction
- higherinferrede0
- Value
- 124e0
- Qualifier
- 117 g kg(-1) sugare0
- Comparator
- controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“sweetness (124 vs. 117 g kg(-1) sugar in the control)”
t0“apples”
e1“Mechanical thinning (43 x g, 360 rpm, 5-7.5 km h(-1)) had a positive effect on fruit size (15% larger)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical thinning produced the largest malic acid content.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- Mechanical thinninge1
- Outcome
- malic acid contente0
- Direction
- largeste0
- Value
- 4 g kg(-1)e0
- Qualifier
- 3.4 g kg(-1)e0
- Comparator
- controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“contained the largest malic acid content (4 g kg(-1) vs. 3.4 g kg(-1) in the control)”
t0“apples”
e1“Mechanical thinning (43 x g, 360 rpm, 5-7.5 km h(-1)) had a positive effect on fruit size (15% larger)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical thinning increased anthocyanin by 17%.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- Mechanical thinninge1
- Outcome
- anthocyanine0
- Direction
- moree0
- Value
- 17%e0
- Qualifier
- normalised anthocyanin index = 0.8 in Gala vs. 0.7 in the controle0
- Comparator
- controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“17% more anthocyanin (normalised anthocyanin index = 0.8 in Gala vs. 0.7 in the control)”
t0“apples”
e1“Mechanical thinning (43 x g, 360 rpm, 5-7.5 km h(-1)) had a positive effect on fruit size (15% larger)”
Claim · model-written summary
Golden and Gala fruit showed advanced starch breakdown.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Material
- Golden and Galae0
- Treatment
- Mechanical thinninge1
- Outcome
- starch breakdowne0
- Direction
- advancede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“fruit of Golden and Gala showed additionally advanced starch breakdown”
t0“apples”
e1“Mechanical thinning (43 x g, 360 rpm, 5-7.5 km h(-1)) had a positive effect on fruit size (15% larger)”
Claim · model-written summary
Golden and Gala fruit ripened earlier.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Material
- Golden and Galae0
- Treatment
- Mechanical thinninge1
- Outcome
- ripenede0
- Direction
- earliere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“fruit of Golden and Gala showed additionally advanced starch breakdown and ripened earlier”
t0“apples”
e1“Mechanical thinning (43 x g, 360 rpm, 5-7.5 km h(-1)) had a positive effect on fruit size (15% larger)”
Claim · model-written summary
Rotor and vehicle speed increases had opposing effects.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- opposing effectse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“increases in rotor speed, viz. centrifugal force, versus increases in the vehicle speed resulted in opposing effects”
t0“apples”
Claim · model-written summary
The integrated thinning coefficient had optimum values of 10-40.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- integrated coefficient of thinning (ICT)e0
- Value
- 10-40e0
- Qualifier
- at 43 x g, 5-7.5 km h(-1)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“an integrated coefficient of thinning (ICT) was devised with optimum values of 10-40 (at 43 x g, 5-7.5 km h(-1))”
t0“apples”
Claim · model-written summary
ICT above 50 led to tree damage.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- tree damagee0
- Value
- ICT > 50e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“an ICT > 50 led to tree damage”
t0“apples”
Claim · model-written summary
ICT below 8 led to suboptimal thinning efficacy.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- sub-optimum thinning efficacye0
- Value
- ICT < 8e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“ICT < 8 led to sub-optimum thinning efficacy”
t0“apples”
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