Thinners Subject BIGLERVILLE (Adams Co.) Growers know that flower bud formation is vital to getting good fruit set. Obtaining that fruit set and managing fruit throughout the cycle is critical to obtaining unproved fruit production. Those were some of the mes sages that more than 110 orchard growers and consultants heard last week at the 1996 Penn State sponsored Fruit School at the SL Paul Lutheran Church in Biglerville. Duane W. Greene, department of plant and soil sciences at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, spoke about the factors that influence flower bud forma uon. How that fruit will set and develop is a combination of “grower management decisions,” Greene indicated. Examples of activities that dis courage flower bud formation include excess nitrogen, severe pruning, selection of a vigorous rootstock, or a gibberellin treat ment Activities that encourage flowering include branch bending, ringing and scoring, selection of dwarfing rootstock, or application of ethephon. Greene examined other factors Top Pennsylvania DHIA Herds By County For February 1(0 1 71 0 51.1 43 I 50 2 57 3 FINS TON FAINS JAKID LIIDILL GU DOI FAINS DODStDIAII HASTINGS Mil IANSOI MI-DILL FAIN HAMILTON lIOS lIATIITOIN FAINS GO-HILL FAINS 081111 FAIN 205 2 94.0 74 9 36 8 Services: • CCA Certified Crop Specialists • Soil Sampling • Tissue Testing • Field Scouting • Field Mapping • Total Crop Plan Management East Berlin 1-800-426-2827 Carlisle 1-800-825-4769 and described the interaction of tree age, cell division and bud development, light and energy, leaves, tree vigor, crop loads, and flowering promotors (use of thin ners and cytokinins). Ross E. Byers, professor of hor ticulture at the Virginia Polytechn ic Ag Research and Extension Center, spoke about the use of thinning sprays to obtain good fruit set. The risks of blossom thinning were explored by Charlie Embree, Ag Canada Research Centre, Kentville, Nova Scotia. George Greene, Fruit Research and Exten sion Center, Biglerville, spoke about parts per million (a concent ration, not a quantity), dilute ver sus concentrate, and tree row vol ume in plant growth regulator applications. The use of blossom thinning technology was a critical compo nent of the daylong school. Since the loss of the use of Alar and 2,4,5-TP for fruit drop control, the use of NAA was increased. “We were left with NAA as our only and weakest stop drop control product to fill the gaps,” accord ing to Dick Unrath, North Carolina State University, Asheville, N.C. One such drop control, AVG (Contlnuad from Pago OS) 20006 19521 19513 19461 11106 11153 lASHIIGTOI 22115 21099 20166 20035 768 767 738 709 3 5 3 6 3 7 3 4 FOLLY HOLION FN INC NINDSON DAIRY FAIN BIDNAISII FAINS JOIN ( J I NAICIIIAI GAFIN lIOS. N 111 6 CAIOI SNITI HILLIIVALI FAIN NITTY FOLIT 691 3 1 676 3 2 659 3 3 648 3 1 MAHON FTLI STONI lILLCIIBT DAIRY FAIN IOSI BIOTBIIS • Flotation Truck Spreading and Spraying • Post Emergence Spraying with High Clearance Sprayers • Lime Spreading • Delivery 5 Convenient Locations to call toll free: Gettysburg 1-800-626-0880 York (717) 428-2109 Chambersburg 1-800-243-3856 Of Biglerville Fruit School At the Penn State Fruit School last week, speakers Included, from left, Steve Miller, Charles Embree, Duane Greene, Dick Unrath, George Greene, and Ross Byers. (yet to be given a trade name), shows promise and requires a spe cific surfactant (silicon) for best effect in apples, according to Unrath. The drop control chemical 19594 691 3.5 628 3.2 19175 683 3.4 614 3.1 19594 714 3 6 609 3 1 19411 733 3.8 608 3.1 18607 742 4 0 588 3 2 17859 670 3 8 516 3.3 11701 704 3.8 583 3.1 17821 699 3 9 576 3 2 18661 665 3 6 568 3 0 18332 635 3 5 565 3 1 17141 713 42 556 32 /4(l youn, cnafi hcccU,.... Products: delays maturity and controls drop. It blocks ethylene production, which causes fruit ripening. But other normal maturity factors are generally altered, such as delayed ch oun cxjb&UeHcect fautdt. • Dry Bulk Fertilizer • Bagged Fertilizer • A Complete Line of Liquid Fertilizers • A Complete Line of Farm Seed • Farm Chemicals red color development, higher starch levels, reduced soluble sol ids content, and a delay in fruit softening. Fruit treated with AVG (four weeks before harvest) should be evaluated separately for fruit maturity and color grading with the expectation of delaying harvest. Effective use of NAA, elgetol, endothal, ethephon, Accel, Sevin, and Vydate as thinners were exa mined. Also, tree and fruit growth regulators were part of the daylong conference. There was also a small group discussion to examine the use of thinners and growth controls. • Ag Lime • Pelletized Calcium Lime • Barn Dri £ ondgrow vrannun* A Division of Agway
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