Abstract
SummaryFruit mineral concentrations measured at harvest can have major effects on apple fruit quality on the tree or during storage. Orchard practices must therefore seek to optimize fruit mineral composition. The purpose of this study was to describe and elucidate the effects of hand thinning on whole trees and individual spurs on apple fruit mineral composition. Two methods of flower and fruitlet thinning were compared with no thinning on `Braeburn' and `Fiesta' apple trees. Alternate whole flower/fruitlet clusters or all but one flower/fruitlet within every cluster were removed at full bloom or 14±21 d after full bloom. Alternate-cluster thinning reduced final fruit numbers per tree and fruit Ca concentrations by up to 22%, while increasing final fruit size by up to 21%, compared with no thinning. These effects on fruit Ca concentrations were also measured across a range of fruit size classes. Within-cluster thinning at full bloom or up to 21 d after full bloom also reduced fruit numbers per tree but increased fruit size substantially, by up to 65% compared with no thinning, this effect being less for later thinning. However, fruit mineral concentrations were not influenced by this treatment. Some fruiting spurs were singled to one fruit 14 d after full bloom on alternately flower cluster thinned trees and on trees that had not been thinned at bloom, and compared with unthinned spurs on the same trees. Fruit Ca concentrations, primary spur leaf areas and primary spur leaf areas per fruit were greater for spurs bearing a single fruit (achieved by thinning manually or through natural abscission) than for multi-fruited spurs on the same trees. Spurs bearing one fruit on unthinned trees had greater fruit Ca concentrations, primary spur leaf areas and primary spur leaf areas per fruit, but lower fruit weight than the same spurs on alternate-cluster thinned trees. However, spurs on unthinned and alternate-cluster thinned trees with the same primary leaf areas per fruit had similar final Ca concentrations. Fruit size and crop loads were found not to be important in explaining fruit Ca concentration differences between thinning methods. However our results suggest that thinning method may affect Ca accumulation in apple fruit by altering the relationship between fruit numbers and leaf areas on individual spurs.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Alternate-cluster thinning reduced final fruit number per tree by up to 22% versus no thinning.
- Taxon
- apple
Malus domesticat0 - Treatment
- Alternate-cluster thinninge0
- Outcome
- final fruit numbers per treee0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- up to 22%e0
- Comparator
- no thinninge0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“apple fruit”
e0“Alternate-cluster thinning reduced final fruit numbers per tree and fruit Ca concentrations by up to 22%, while increasing final fruit size by up to 21%, compared with no thinning”
Claim · model-written summary
Alternate-cluster thinning reduced fruit calcium concentration by up to 22% versus no thinning, including across fruit size classes.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- Alternate-cluster thinninge0
- Outcome
- fruit Ca concentrationse0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- up to 22%e0
- Comparator
- no thinninge0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“apple fruit”
e0“Alternate-cluster thinning reduced final fruit numbers per tree and fruit Ca concentrations by up to 22%, while increasing final fruit size by up to 21%, compared with no thinning”
e1“These effects on fruit Ca concentrations were also measured across a range of fruit size classes”
Claim · model-written summary
Alternate-cluster thinning increased final fruit size by up to 21% versus no thinning.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- Alternate-cluster thinninge0
- Outcome
- final fruit sizee0
- Direction
- increasinge0
- Value
- up to 21%e0
- Comparator
- no thinninge0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“apple fruit”
e0“Alternate-cluster thinning reduced final fruit numbers per tree and fruit Ca concentrations by up to 22%, while increasing final fruit size by up to 21%, compared with no thinning”
Claim · model-written summary
Within-cluster thinning reduced fruit numbers per tree versus no thinning.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- Within-cluster thinninge0
- Outcome
- fruit numbers per treee0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Comparator
- no thinninge0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“apple fruit”
e0“Within-cluster thinning at full bloom or up to 21 d after full bloom also reduced fruit numbers per tree but increased fruit size substantially, by up to 65% compared with no thinning”
Claim · model-written summary
Within-cluster thinning increased fruit size by up to 65% versus no thinning, with a smaller effect when thinning was later.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- Within-cluster thinninge0
- Outcome
- fruit sizee0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- up to 65%e0
- Qualifier
- less for later thinninge0
- Comparator
- no thinninge0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“apple fruit”
e0“Within-cluster thinning at full bloom or up to 21 d after full bloom also reduced fruit numbers per tree but increased fruit size substantially, by up to 65% compared with no thinning, this effect being less for later thinning”
Claim · model-written summary
Within-cluster thinning did not significantly change fruit mineral concentrations.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- Within-cluster thinninge1
- Outcome
- fruit mineral concentrationse0
- Direction
- not influencede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“apple fruit”
e0“fruit mineral concentrations were not influenced by this treatment”
e1“Within-cluster thinning at full bloom or up to 21 d after full bloom”
Claim · model-written summary
Single-fruit spurs had greater fruit calcium concentration and primary spur leaf area than multiple-fruit spurs on the same trees.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Organ / stage
- spurse0
- Outcome
- Fruit Ca concentrations, primary spur leaf areas and primary spur leaf areas per fruite0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Comparator
- multi-fruited spurse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“apple fruit”
e0“Fruit Ca concentrations, primary spur leaf areas and primary spur leaf areas per fruit were greater for spurs bearing a single fruit (achieved by thinning manually or through natural abscission) than for multi-fruited spurs on the same trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Single-fruit spurs on unthinned trees had greater fruit calcium concentration and leaf area per fruit than comparable spurs on alternate-cluster-thinned trees.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- fruit Ca concentrations, primary spur leaf areas and primary spur leaf areas per fruite0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Comparator
- alternate-cluster thinned treese0
- Setting
- unthinned treese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“apple fruit”
e0“Spurs bearing one fruit on unthinned trees had greater fruit Ca concentrations, primary spur leaf areas and primary spur leaf areas per fruit, but lower fruit weight than the same spurs on alternate-cluster thinned trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Single-fruit spurs on unthinned trees had lower fruit weight than comparable spurs on alternate-cluster-thinned trees.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- fruit weighte0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Comparator
- alternate-cluster thinned treese0
- Setting
- unthinned treese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“apple fruit”
e0“Spurs bearing one fruit on unthinned trees had greater fruit Ca concentrations, primary spur leaf areas and primary spur leaf areas per fruit, but lower fruit weight than the same spurs on alternate-cluster thinned trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Spurs on unthinned and alternate-cluster-thinned trees with equal primary leaf area per fruit had similar final calcium concentrations.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- final Ca concentrationse0
- Direction
- similare0
- Qualifier
- same primary leaf areas per fruite0
- Comparator
- alternate-cluster thinned treese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“apple fruit”
e0“spurs on unthinned and alternate-cluster thinned trees with the same primary leaf areas per fruit had similar final Ca concentrations”
Claim · model-written summary
Fruit size and crop load were not important explanations for calcium concentration differences among thinning methods.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Organ / stage
- Fruite0
- Outcome
- fruit Ca concentration differencese0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“apple fruit”
e0“Fruit size and crop loads were found not to be important in explaining fruit Ca concentration differences between thinning methods”
Claim · model-written summary
Thinning method may affect fruit calcium accumulation through the fruit-number-to-leaf-area relationship on individual spurs.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticae0
- Treatment
- thinning methode0
- Outcome
- Ca accumulatione0
- Qualifier
- relationship between fruit numbers and leaf areas on individual spurse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“apple fruit”
e0“thinning method may affect Ca accumulation in apple fruit by altering the relationship between fruit numbers and leaf areas on individual spurs”
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See all 147 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.