Influence of fruit load thinning method on specific productivity of apple trees

Abstract

Tree specific productivity is the fruit yield in relation to crown canopy area, crown productive volume and cross-sectional area of the trunk. The researches were carried out in the orchard of the company LLC „Codru ST” in the period of 2014-2017, age of trees 9-12 years, varieties Gala Must, Golden Delicious Reinders, Idared, grafted on M9, planting distance 3.5x1.2 m, crown shape improved slender spindle. As methods of fruit load regulation, control variant without thinning, hand thinning variant and chemical thinning of fruit were used. For chemical thinning 3 growth regulators with different treatment basis were used: Geramid New (1.2; 1.5; 2.0 l/ha), Dirager (0.2; 0.3; 0.4 l/ha) and Gerba 4LG (2.0; 2.5; 3.0 l/ha).