Abstract
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.
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Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
Extenday produced 69% well-colored fruit versus 16–26% in controls.
- Taxon
- Apple trees
Malus domesticae0 - Treatment
- Extenday®e0
- Outcome
- well-colored fruite0
- Direction
- producede0
- Value
- 69e0
- Qualifier
- 16-26%e0
- Comparator
- controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“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”
Claim · model-written summary
Lumilys produced 44% well-colored fruit versus 16–26% in controls.
- Taxon
- Apple treesMalus domesticae0
- Treatment
- Lumilys®e0
- Outcome
- well-colored fruite0
- Direction
- producede0
- Value
- 44%e0
- Qualifier
- 16-26%e0
- Comparator
- controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“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”
Claim · model-written summary
Reflective covers did not accelerate apple ripening versus controls.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“There was no acceleration of ripening in plots with reflective ground covers compared with the control”
Claim · model-written summary
Reflective covers did not change fruit sugar content or firmness.
Not reportedTaxonTreatmentComparator
Verbatim
e0“There were no differences in sugar contents (°Brix) and fruit firmness (kg cm‑2)”
Claim · model-written summary
Reflective mulch significantly delayed fruit starch breakdown compared with controls.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“starch breakdown in fruit with reflective mulch was significantly delayed compared with the control”
Claim · model-written summary
Repeated use more than once per year gave reflective mulches an economic advantage when labor costs were excluded.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“an economic advantage, if these mulches are used more than once a year”
The same questions in other papers
mulching · quality: sugar starch · Malus domestica (apple)Results differ
2 papers in the same direction as this paper · 7 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
6 papers more in this group
See all 10 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.