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Use of Plant Bioregulators to Manage Growth, Yield and Quality...
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Use of Plant Bioregulators to Manage Growth, Yield and Quality in Perennial Tree Crops

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 September 2021) | Viewed by 17185

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sally Bound

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 98, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
Interests: fruit quality; crop load management; sustainable orchard floor management; soil health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant bioregulators (PBRs) are endogenous or synthetically produced substances that affect the expression of biochemical or physiological functions in plant tissues. The application of PBRs has become common practice in perennial fruit tree production in order to promote, inhibit or otherwise affect a range of physiological responses within the tree. Bioregulators can assist orchardists to maximize the genetic potential of their trees, and are valuable aids in managing tree growth and structure, manipulating flower bud formation, releasing buds from dormancy, regulating crop load, improving fruit quality and shelf life, preventing pre-harvest fruit drop or altering fruit maturity. The common categories of bioregulators include auxins, ABA, cytokinins, GAs and ethylene. However, other more recently discovered compounds that can regulate plant growth and development include brassinosteroids, jasmonates, oligosaccharins, polyamines, strigalactones and salicylates. The action and efficacy of a PBR is dependent on a range of factors, including product concentration, time of application, species and cultivar. Environmental conditions can also influence the physiological response of the plant to a PBR. With increasing labour costs impacting production costs, application of PBRs can be more cost effective than labour intensive cultural methods.

This Special Issue focuses on the role of PBRs in management of vegetative growth, crop yield and fruit quality in perennial tree crops. You are invited to submit original research and review articles that further our knowledge of the impact of PBRs on physiological or biochemical processes within perennial fruiting trees and/or provide insights into new and novel uses of PBRs for the management of tree crops.

Dr. Sally Bound
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • flowering
  • fruit set
  • crop load
  • fruit quality
  • tree growth
  • dormancy
  • maturity

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 3365 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Dormancy Breakers on Hormone Profiles, Fruit Growth and Quality in Sweet Cherry
by Sally A. Bound, Eloise Foo, Ariane Gélinas-Marion, David S. Nichols and Robert Nissen
Agriculture 2022, 12(2), 270; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12020270 - 14 Feb 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6192
Abstract
Chemical dormancy breakers are often used to manipulate floral bud break in sweet cherry production, and their use is increasing due to unpredictable climate effects. The role of plant hormones in regulating the critical transition of floral buds from dormant to opening in [...] Read more.
Chemical dormancy breakers are often used to manipulate floral bud break in sweet cherry production, and their use is increasing due to unpredictable climate effects. The role of plant hormones in regulating the critical transition of floral buds from dormant to opening in deciduous trees is now emerging. By monitoring changes in endogenous hormone levels within floral buds that are undergoing the transition from dormant to the growing state in response to various cues (environmental and/or chemical inducers), we can begin to distinguish the plant hormones that are the drivers of this process. This study sought to identify key hormonal regulators of floral bud break using sweet cherry as a model and modifying timing of bud break through the application of two chemical dormancy breakers, hydrogen cyanamide (HC, Dormex®) and emulsified vegetable oil compound (EVOC, Waiken®), and to determine the effect of these chemicals on fruit growth and quality. Treatments were applied at label rates 35–40 days before estimated bud break. We found that HC-treated tree buds broke earlier, and this was associated with a significant early elevation of the cytokinins dihydrozeatin and dihydrozeatin riboside compared to the control and EVOC-treated tree buds. In contrast, changes in auxin and abscisic acid content did not appear to explain the hastened bud burst induced by hydrogen cyanamide. While HC-treated trees resulted in larger fruit, there was a higher incidence of cracked fruit and the pack-out of A-grade fruit was reduced. The increase in fruit size was attributed to the earlier flowering and hence longer growing period. Harvest assessment of fruit quality showed no treatment effect on most quality parameters, including fruit dry matter content, total soluble solids or malic acid content, but a reduction in fruit compression firmness and stem pull force in EVOC-treated trees was observed. However, all fruit still met the Australian industry fruit quality export market standards. This study offers important insights into bud hormonal activities underpinning the action of these chemical regulators; understanding bud responses is critically important to ensuring consistent and sustainable fruit tree production systems into the future. It also demonstrates that the dormancy-breaking agents HC and EVOC have no detrimental impact on fruit quality at harvest or following storage, however growers need to be aware of the potential for increased fruit cracking when earlier bud break results in a longer growing season which has the potential to increase fruit size. Further studies are required to determine the role of gibberellin in hastening bud break by dormancy breakers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Use of Plant Bioregulators to Manage Growth, Yield and Quality in Perennial Tree Crops)
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12 pages, 1204 KiB  
Article
Effect of Hydrogen Cyanamide on Bud Break, Fruit Yield and Quality of Highbush Blueberry in Greenhouse Production
by Hao Wang, Xiuying Xia and Lijia An
Agriculture 2021, 11(5), 439; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture11050439 - 12 May 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3272
Abstract
Highbush blueberries need sufficient chilling exposure to induce bud break and flowering, which limits their cultivation in warm areas as well as the profitability of protected cultivation in greenhouses. Hydrogen cyanamide (H2CN2, HC), gibberellic acid (GA3), ethephon [...] Read more.
Highbush blueberries need sufficient chilling exposure to induce bud break and flowering, which limits their cultivation in warm areas as well as the profitability of protected cultivation in greenhouses. Hydrogen cyanamide (H2CN2, HC), gibberellic acid (GA3), ethephon (CE), mineral oil (MO), and potassium nitrate (KNO3) are often applied to deciduous fruit trees to advance bud break and fruit set. In this study, experiments were conducted in northeast China to determine the effects of different concentrations of HC or HC in combination with GA3, CE, MO, and KNO3 on bud break, fruit quality, and fruit yield in greenhouse-grown highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.). The results showed that all of the treatment agents could advance bud break by at least 15 days and fruit ripening by 16 days compared to the control. In addition, all treatments could promote the development of flowers and fruits and shorten the flowering and harvest periods. Compared with the control, 0.5% HC or 0.67% HC treatment increased the fruit yield of 5-year-old and 7-year-old bushes, especially early yield. Experiments carried out over two consecutive years in two different varieties, namely ‘M7’ and ‘Brigitta’, further confirmed the positive effect of 0.67% HC application on fruit yield. The results also showed that 0.67% HC had no negative effects on fruit quality. These findings may encourage growers to consider spraying HC in greenhouses to increase fruit yield, especially early yield, in order to schedule the harvest time for a more lucrative marketing period. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Use of Plant Bioregulators to Manage Growth, Yield and Quality in Perennial Tree Crops)
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Review

Jump to: Research

26 pages, 417 KiB  
Review
Managing Crop Load in European Pear (Pyrus communis L.)—A Review
by Sally A. Bound
Agriculture 2021, 11(7), 637; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture11070637 - 08 Jul 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3302
Abstract
Reducing levels of fruit set is often desirable in many European pear (Pyrus communis L.) cultivars. With a negative linear relationship between crop load and fruit size, crop load management early in the season minimises wastage of tree carbohydrate resources and provides [...] Read more.
Reducing levels of fruit set is often desirable in many European pear (Pyrus communis L.) cultivars. With a negative linear relationship between crop load and fruit size, crop load management early in the season minimises wastage of tree carbohydrate resources and provides maximum benefits in terms of fruit size and quality. There are several tools available for managing crop load including hand thinning, chemical thinning, photosynthetic inhibition through shading or application of chemicals, mechanical thinning and pruning. While hand thinning is the most accurate method of reducing excessive crop loads, there are some major drawbacks. With awareness that the early thinning offered by chemical thinning provides distinct advantages with regard to fruit size and other quality parameters, chemical thinning is gaining increasing acceptance in pear production. Some chemicals are used worldwide for thinning, but there are differences between countries and growing regions on recommended application timing and concentrations. The risks involved in chemical thinning can be mitigated by use of a structured approach, using a sequential spray program with both bloom and post-bloom thinners. Knowledge of conditions that impact the carbon balance of the tree and the ability to make use of carbon-deficit conditions are likely to improve the predictability of chemical thinning. Mechanical thinning has potential as a thinning tool, with advantages over chemical thinning in that it is environmentally friendly, can be used in organic production and is not weather dependent. Although artificial bud extinction has not been trialled on pears to date, it has been shown to be economically viable in apple. As it is a precision crop load management method that minimises tree resource wastage, it should be given serious consideration. As growers require large annual yields of high-quality fruit, the aim of this review was to examine current and potential crop load management methods for European pear cultivars and provide a portfolio of available options that can be integrated into a systematic approach for managing crop load. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Use of Plant Bioregulators to Manage Growth, Yield and Quality in Perennial Tree Crops)
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