IN MODERN AGRICULTURE

Biostimultors IN MODERN AGRICULTURE Fruit Crops E D I T O R : Andrzej Sdowski W r s w 2 0 0 8

2 The series of monogrphs under common nme BIOSTIMULATORS IN MODERN AGRICULTURE contins review of recent reserch relted to this subject nd consists of the following prts: GENERAL ASPECTS FIELD CROPS SOLANACEOUS CROPS VEGETABLE CROPS FRUIT CROPS ORNAMENTAL AND SPECIAL PLANTS EDITORIAL BOARD: Andrzej Sdowski, Deprtment of Pomology,Wrsw University of Life Sciences (WULS) chirmn Zbigniew T. D¹browski, Deprtment of Applied Entomology, WULS Helen Gwroñsk, Lbortory of Bsic Nturl Sciences in Horticulture, WULS Aleksndr ukszewsk, Deprtment of Ornmentl Plnts, WULS Adm S³owiñski, Aryst LifeScience Polnd PRODUCTION EDITORS: Zbigniew T. D¹browski, Wrsw University of Life Sciences (WULS) Ann Krbowniczek, Aryst LifeScience Polnd Ad Krzeczkowsk, Wieœ Jutr Hlin Skrobck, Wieœ Jutr REVIEWERS: Zbigniew T. D¹browski, Deprtment of Applied Entomology, Wrsw University of Life Sciences (WULS) M³gorzt Kie³kiewicz-Szniwsk, Deprtment of Applied Entomology, WULS Mrin Sniewski, Institute of Pomology nd Floriculture, Skierniewice Ann Tomczyk, Deprtment of Applied Entomology, WULS This edition ws supported by Aryst LifeScience Cover: Plntpress ISBN 83-89503-56-5 Published by the Editoril House Wieœ Jutr, Limited Jnowskiego 6 02-784 Wrszw phone: (0 22) 643 82 60 e-mil: wies.jutr@dres.pl www.wiesjutr.pl Printed by Ryko Copies 300, publishing sheets: 10.0

3 CONTENTS PREFACE... 5 THE USE OF SOME BIOSTIMULATORS ON APPLE AND PEAR TREES... 7 Alin Bsk, Mri Mikos-Bielk QUALITY OF `CONFERENCE` PEARS AS AFFECTED BY GOËMAR BM 86 AND FRUTON... 18 Jn B³szczyk GROWTH AND FEATHERING OF MAIDEN PEAR TREES AS AFFECTED BY DIFFERENT BIOREGULATORS... 25 Mciej G¹sto³ IMPROVEMENT OF ROOTING AND DEVELOPMENT OF GRAPEVINE CUTTINGS BY ASAHI SL, BIOCHIKOL 020 PC, TYTANIT, CITROSEPT AND BIOSEPT...31 Krzysztof Górnik, Mieczys³w Grzesik EFFECTS OF BIOSTIMULATORS ON GROWTH, CROPPING AND FRUIT QUALITY OF CHOKEBERRY... 42 Pwe³ Krwiec EFFECT OF GOËMAR BM 86 APPLICATION ON DEVELOPMENT AND QUALITY OF PRIMOCANE RASPBERRY FRUITS...49 Ktrzyn Krok, Justyn Wienirsk EFFECT OF CPPU APPLICATION ON FRUIT DEVELOPMENT AND QUALITY OF DIFFERENT ACTINIDIA GENOTYPES...60 Piotr Ltoch, Tomsz Krup INFLUENCE OF THREE BIOSTIMULATORS ON GROWTH, YIELD AND FRUIT CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF `POLKA` RASPBERRY... 68 Ireneusz Ochmin, Józef Grjkowski, Ktrzyn Skupieñ THE USE OF BIOSTIMULATORS IN SMALL FRUIT GROWING...76 Lidi Ss-Pszt, Edwrd urwicz, Agnieszk Msny, Jcek Filipczk, Stnis³w Plut, Mriusz Lewndowski, Alin Bsk EFFECT OF GOËMAR BM 86 ON YIELD AND QUALITY...91 Driusz Wron, Mgdlen Misiur POLISH SUMMARIES... 97

4

5 PREFACE The high yield potentil of modern cultivrs is often restrined by vrious environmentl stresses both of biotic nd biotic nture, ffecting the crop sttus. The present pproch in pro-ecologicl plnt protection from such biotic stresses s weeds, diseses nd pests emphsises enhncement of nturlly occurring compounds, orgnisms or plnt defence mechnisms. These compounds should fill the gp resulting from the regultory decisions of ntionl uthorities in mny countries, leding to restrictions in use of number of synthetic pesticides. Extensive reserch crried out in the lst two decdes hs shown tht some nturl products my be efficiently used in enhncing the plnt s endogenous resistnce or tolernce to the biotic nd biotic stresses. A group of such ctive products is presently clssified s biostimultors. When reduction of the chemicl input is expected, the use of biostimultors becomes prticulrly promising option. Biostimultors re defined s compounds of biologicl origin nd should ct by incresing nturl cpbilities of plnts to cope with stresses. Biostimultors do not ct neither s nutrients nor ffect directly the stress fctors mking them less hrmful for plnts. The efficcy of biostimultors is not limited to reducing effects of biotic nd biotic stresses. They stimulte growth nd development of plnts under unfvourble soil nd climtic conditions. Although the effects of biostimultors re not so spectculr nd not lwys stble over the yers due to interction with other used chemicls nd/or environmentl fctors the interest of frmers in using biostimultors is successively incresing over time. According to the ntionl legisltion, biostimultors re relted to the ctegory of plnt protection products. Therefore they must comply with ll rules for registrtion nd hence prior to forml pprovl for use they must be tested for sfety to humns nd the environment. The dynmic increse of reserch projects on biostimultors nd of frmers interest in their use in griculture nd horticulture production provoked n ide of the interntionl conference on Biostimultors in Modern Agriculture. It ws orgnized by the Lbortory of Bsic Sciences in Horticulture, t the Fculty of Horticulture nd Lndscpe Architecture t the Wrsw University of Life Scien-

6 ces. The conference hs ttrcted lrge group of scientists nd grdute students from universities nd reserch institutions involved in bsic nd pplied reserch in griculture s well from the industry. About three hundred sixty prticipnts included lso representtives of frmers nd distributors of griculturl supplies. The extensive nd cretive discussions during the conference nd interest in conference mterils s well s suggestions from prticipnts indicted the urgent need for dissemintion of the stte of knowledge on biostimultors. This inspired the orgnizers of the Conference to co-ordinte prepring reviews on recent scientific chievements in the field of biostimultors, including the prcticl spects of their ppliction on vrious crops. Following suggestions ppering t the Conference, the orgnisers invited scientists hving experience nd chievements in work on biostimultors to prepre relevnt reviews relted to prticulr products nd crops. Bsed on the submitted mnuscripts the Editoril Bord decided to publish series of monogrphs entitled: BIOSTIMULATORS IN MODERN AGRICULTU- RE comprising the following six volumes: Generl Aspects, Field Crops, Solnceous Crops, Vegetble Crops, Fruit Crops nd Ornmentl nd Specil Plnts. The Editors hope tht this publiction would fill the gp in knowledge on the mechnisms of ction of vrious biostimultors nd on the conditions for their high efficcy. We re very grteful to the uthors who willingly greed to contribute to these books. EDITORS

7 THE USE OF SOME BIOSTIMULATORS ON APPLE AND PEAR TREES Alin Bsk 1, Mri Mikos-Bielk 2 1 Institute of Pomology nd Floriculture in Skierniewice, Polnd 2 Lublin Agriculturl University, Chemistry Deprtmentin Lublin, Polnd INTRODUCTION At present, the growing interest in ecologicl methods of fruit production, s well s decresing number of synthetic chemicl products llowed for use in the orchrds, motivte to serch for new biologicl formultions to replce the chemicl gents [Bsk 2001, 2004, Rdemcher 2004, Mtyjszczyk 2007]. Despite the fct tht the new preprtions re of nturl origin, they need to be ssessed for biologicl effectiveness before introducing in commercil orchrds. One of the best known biostimultors is Ashi SL, known worldwide s Atonik [Bsk 2002]. It contins sodium ortho- nd pr-nitrophenolte nd 5-nitro sodium glycolte. These substnces occur nturlly in plnts. When used exogenously, they enhnce the ction of uxins, stimulte flowering processes nd ccumultion of polyols in cells, thus protecting them from dmge. This llows plnts to djust quickly to unfvourble environmentl conditions. The technology of Ashi production is friendly to the environment nd users. The preprtion hs been widely used in growing of vrious plnts [Bsk nd Mikos-Bielk 2002, 2003]. Its effects depend on the mode ppliction nd environmentl conditions. Tytnit is nother biostimultor. It contins the element titnium nd cuses increse of chlorophyll content in the leves, reinforcement of plnt tolernce to stressful conditions, increse of yield nd improvement of fruit qulity [Bsk 2001b]. The biostimultor Frigocur is used minly in Hungry. It is mixture of growth substnces. When pplied in spring, it stimultes growth of cmbium t the bse of flower buds, thus improving supply of nutrients. This, in turn, results in better flowering nd fruit set s well s in enhnced growth nd improved colortion of pples [Ztyko 1999, Bsk 2001]. One of the most interesting compounds is Kelpk, produced from the lge Eckloni mxim [Bsk 2008, Msny et l. 2004]. It contins minly uxins nd cytokinins, with some gibberellins, mino cids nd lgintes. The Polish product Help is n nti-frost formultion, contining lph-tocoferol, vitmin C nd glycerol [Ho³ubowicz et l. 2004]. A similr preprtion, contining only lphtocoferol, is Plntcur. In the experiments conducted in Frnce, it hd revitlising effect on plnts subjected to stress cused by drought or by negtive effects of herbicides [Obid nd Nog 1996].

8 The im of the experiments reported here ws to ssess the effects of the bove mentioned preprtions on cropping nd fruit qulity of pple nd per trees, prticulrly when grown under unfvourble conditions, due to low tempertures t bloom. MATERIALS AND METHODS This pper contins the results of seven experiments with severl biostimultors pplied to the `Jongold`, `Golden Delicious` nd `Elstr` pple trees nd `Conference` per trees. Experiment 1, 2 nd 3. These experiments were crried out in the yer 2000, in the Experimentl Orchrd D¹browice of the Reserch Institute of Pomology nd Floriculture, on four-yer-old `Golden Delicious` nd `Elstr` pple trees nd four-yer-old `Conference` per trees. The trees involved in the tril were grown in the djcent rows of the sme plot, i.e. t similr soil, wether nd grotechnologicl conditions. Tytnit ws pplied t two concentrtions, 0.02% or 0.04%, using bout 0.7 litre of the compound per tree. Trees were spryed to run-off with knpsck spryer. The tretments were repeted in the sme mnner four times: (1) on the 26 th of April when `Elstr` nd `Golden Delicious` trees strted to bloom (t 20% or 10% of opened flowers, respectively) nd when `Conference` trees just finished blooming; (2) on My 12 (bout 2 weeks fter bloom); (3) on June 1 (just before the June drop); (4) on August 31 (bout 3 weeks before hrvest). Unspryed trees served s control. Ech tretment ws tested on 28 trees positioned long one row, in 4 blocks with 7 trees ech. Experiments 4 nd 5. The experiments were crried out in the yer 2001, in Annopol, Lublin region, on eight-yer-old `Jongold` nd `Elstr` pple trees grown on the semi-dwrfing M.26 rootstock. In ech experiment, trees of two cultivrs were grown in djcent rows, i.e. t the sme soil nd wether conditions. Both cultivrs were spryed on the sme dtes, becuse in 2001 pple trees begn to flower lte nd the bloom period ws short, with ll cultivrs flowering t bout the sme time. The orchrd ws situted on South-West slope. For ech tretment, nine trees were selected, with three trees positioned in the upper prt of the orchrd, three in the middle nd three in the lower prt, tht is in res exposed to possible frost t bloom to different degree. Unspryed trees served s control. In the experiments 4 nd 5, the preprtion Ashi SL ws used in two concentrtions, 0.05 or 0.1%. Trees were spryed four times: (1) in erly spring, t bud brek, on April 19; (2) t pink bud stge, on My 2; (3) t the end of bloom, on My 20; (4) two weeks fter bloom, on June 4. Experiments 6 nd 7. The experiments were crried out in the Experimentl Orchrd of the Institute of Pomology nd Floriculture in Skierniewice, on five-yer-old `Jongold` nd `Elstr` pple trees grown on M.26 rootstock. The trees of both cultivrs were spryed t the sme dtes s in the experiments 4 nd 5, becuse in 2001 pple trees begn to flower lte nd the bloom period ws short, with opening flowers t bout the sme time in ll cultivrs. Trees of both cultivrs under study were grown in djcent rows. The tretments were distributed rndomly long the rows, ech in four plots consisting of three trees of similr vigour nd flowering intensity (12 trees per tretment). The preprtions used were: Tytnit t 0.02 or 0.04%, Ashi SL t 0.1 or 0.05%, Frigocur t

9 0.1%, Kelpk t 0.2%, nd Help t 4%. All biostimultors were pplied four times: (1) t bud brek (April 19); (2) t pink bud stge (My 4); (3) t the end of bloom (My 21); (4) two weeks fter bloom (June 4). Unspryed trees served s control. In ll experiments (1-7), the sme determintions were crried out s follows. 1. At the beginning of bloom, ll inflorescences on ech tree were counted. 2. Fruitlets were then counted on ech tree twice: (1) before the June drop (beginning of June) nd (2) gin fter the June drop (beginning of July), to ssess the effect of the tretments on fruit set. 3. At hrvestthe following indices were recorded: fruit yield in kg per plot, men fruit (pple or per) mss nd the percentge shre of pples, clibrted by dimeter, fruit colortion nd russeting, evluted ccording to five-degree scle (1 no red colour or no russeting, 2 red colour or russeting on <25% of fruit surfce, 3 on 26-50% of surfce, 4 on 51-75% of surfce, 5 >75% of surfce), using one representtive box of pples (150 fruits), from three trees of ech plot (4 boxes of pples from ech tretment), 20 pples of the size clss 75-80 mm (for `Jongold`) or of 65-70 mm (for `Elstr`) were used for estimtion of fruit shpe by mesurements of fruit length nd dimeter s well s for determintions of firmness nd soluble solids content (refrction), s indictors of the internl qulity. 4. In ll experiments, the effect of the tretments on the intensity of flowering in the following yer ws lso ssessed. The five-degree scle ws used for this purpose (1 no flowers, 5 bundnt flowering). The dt were subjected to nlysis of vrince. The differences between tretment mens were estimted by Duncn`s multiple rnge test t α = 0.05. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Experiments 1-3. The preprtion ws used under wether conditions tht were fvourble for its bsorption: the temperture ws 22 C on April 26, 15-17 C on My 12, 18-20 C on June 1, nd 20 C on August 31. During the bloom period, hrd frosts occurred, however, the first one during the night of My 4/5, nd they cused considerble injury to blossoms in the experimentl orchrd. The most severely ffected were `Elstr` pple nd `Conference` per trees. The `Elstr` pple trees were in full bloom when the frost occurred, wheres `Conference` per trees were t the stge of smll fruitlets. `Elstr` mnged to retin fruits only in the upper prt of the tree cnopy, bove the frost line. At the sme time `Golden Delicious` just strted to bloom. Probbly for tht reson this cultivr suffered the lest frost dmge [Ho³ubowicz et l. 2004]. In `Golden Delicious` trees, Tytnit brought bout significnt reduction of fruit set (Tb. 1). In spite of tht, the totl yield nd yield of lrge, mrketble fruits significntly incresed s n effect of Tytnit tretments. No significnt improvement of men fruit mss ws noted, however, the fruit size distribution ws significntly improved, with more pples of 75-80 mm in dimeter, especilly due to Tytnit pplied t the lower concentrtion (0.02%). Tytnit did not influence fruit firmness of `Golden Delicious` pples.

TABLE 1. EFFECTS OF TYTANIT ON FRUIT SET, YIELD AND QUALITY OF `GOLDEN DELICIOUS` APPLES EXPERIMENT 1 Tbel 1. Wp³yw preprtu Tytnit n zwi¹zywnie owoców, plon i jkoœæ jb³ek `Golden Delicius` doœwidczenie 1 TREATMENT Kombincj Kontrol Tytnit 0.02% NUMBER OF FRUITS PER 100 CLUSTERS Liczb owoców n 100 kwitostnów TOTAL YIELD [kg per tree] Plon c³kowity [kg n drzewo] YIELD OF FRUITS >70 mm in O [kg per tree] Plon owoców o O > 70 mm [kg n drzewo] MEAN FRUIT MASS Œredni ms owocu [g] FRUITS OF 75-80 mm in O Owoce o O 75-80 mm [%] FIRMNESS [lb] Jêdrnoœæ [funty] SOLUBLE SOLIDS CONTENT Zwrtoœæ ekstrktu [%] SUBSEQUENT FLOWERING IN A 5-DEGREE SCALE Intensywnoœæ kwitnieni w nstêpnym roku w skli 5-stopniowej 33.9 b 24.8 b 11.2 7.6 143 20.4 7.93 17.5 2.3 25.9 17.4 15.1 b 11.5 b 146 26.5 b 7.98 17.6 2.9 b 10 Tytnit 0.04% 23.6 15.3 15.9 b 11.4 b 144 23.1 b 8.56 18.1 b 3.1 b AFTER ONE-MONTH STORAGE MEANS DENOTED IN COLUMNS WITH THE SAME LETTER DO NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY, ACCORDING TO THE DUNCAN'S TEST, AT =0.05. po 1. miesiêcznym przechowywniu Œ rednie w kolumnch oznczone t¹ sm¹ liter¹ nie ró ni¹ siê istotnie, wg testu Duncn, przy = 0.05. TABLE 2. EFFECTS OF TYTANIT ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF `ELSTAR` APPLES EXPERIMENT 2 Tbel 2. Wp³yw preprtu Tytnit n plon i jkoœæ jb³ek odminy Elstr doœwidczenie 2 TREATMENT Kombincj Kontrol Tytnit 0.02% Tytnit 0.04% TOTAL YIELD [kg per tree] Plon c³kowity [kg n drzewo] FOR EXPLANATIONS SEE TABLE 1. Objœnieni pod tbel¹ 1. YIELD OF FRUITS >70 mm in O [ kg per tree] Plon owoców o O > 70 mm [kg n drzewo] MEAN FRUIT MASS Œredni ms owocu [g] FRUITS WITH RED COLOUR ON 75% SURFACE Owoce z rumieñcem n 75% powierzchn i [%] FIRMNESS [lb] Jêdrnoœæ [funty] SOLUBLE SOLIDS CONTENT Zwrtoœæ ekstrktu [%] SUBSEQUENT FLOWERING IN A 5-DEGREE SCALE Intensywnoœæ kwitnieni w nstêpnym roku w skli 5-stopniowej 37.4 b 10.5 b 129 b 59 6.85 17.61 2.2 12.7 4.7 99 70 7.38 b 19.34 b 4.0 b 11.5 5.4 109 69 7.35 b 19.78 b 4.2 b

However, when pplied t the higher rte (0.04%), it cused significnt increse of the soluble solids content (Tb. 1). No mrked effects of Tytnit on skin russeting of `Golden Delicious` pples were noted (dt not shown). In next spring, `Golden Delicious` trees treted with Tytnit flowered more bundntly thn the control ones, especilly when Tytnit ws pplied t the higher rte (Tb. 1). `Elstr` pple trees were severely ffected by frost. Appliction of Tytnit cused very distinct reduction of fruit set (dt not shown) nd significnt reduction of pple size nd yield (Tb. 2). Tytnit tretments contributed to significnt improvement of the internl fruit qulity of `Elstr`, mnifested by higher firmness nd higher soluble solids content (Tb. 2). A slight (non-significnt) improvement of the fruit red colour hs been lso noted (dt not shown). A pronounced improvement of subsequent flowering ws found in `Elstr` trees treted with Tytnit (Tb. 2). Probbly this ws relted to strong reduction of fruit set in the yer of tretment [Bsk 2001]. In `Conference` per trees spryed with Tytnit, prticulrly t the lower concentrtion, tendency to incresed fruit set nd to slight increse of yield ppered (Tb. 3). No effect on the internl qulity of pers ws noted (dt not shown). When frost cme, per trees were lredy t the fruitlet stge. Probbly for tht reson they suffered less from frost thn pple trees tht just pproched full bloom [Ho³ubowicz t l. 2004]. TABLE 3. EFFECT OF TYTANIT ON FRUIT SET, YIELD AND MEAN FRUIT MASS OF `CONFERENCE` PEARS EXPERIMENT 3 Tbel 2. Wp³yw Tytnitu n plonownie i wielkoœæ owoców gruszek odminy Konferencj doœwidczenie 3 TREATMENT Trktownie Kontrol NUMBER OF FRUITLETS PER 100 FLOWER CLUSTERS Liczb zwi¹zków n 100 p¹czków kwitowych BEFORE JUNE DROP Przed opdem czerwcowym AFTER JUNE DROP Po opdzie czerwcowym TOTAL YIELD [kg per tree] Plon ogólny [kg n drzewo] 11 MEAN FRUIT MASS Œredni ms owoców [g] 107 97 4.64 170 Tytnit 0.02% 139 111 5.53 169 Tytnit 0.04% 107 101 4.74 166 EXPLANATIONS ALL DIFFERENCES NON-SIGNIFICANT, AT = 0.05 Objœnieni wszystkie ró nice nieistotne, przy = 0.05. In ll cses, sprys with Tytnit brought cler improvement in the green colour index of leves, tht pprently indicted t n improvement in the photosynthetic ctivity (dt re not shown). These chnges my hve been ttributed to the element titnium the ctive ingredient of the preprtion Tytnit [Bsk 2001b]. Experiments 4. nd 5. A frost with minimum temperture 8 C occurred in this orchrd (Lublin region) on the 25-27 th of My, ffecting bout 10% of trees. All the fruitlets on the control `Jongold` nd `Elstr` trees locted in the lower prt of the orchrd were frostbitten, s well s those on the trees growing in the re where Ashi SL hd been pplied t only 0.05%. Despite exceptionlly long period of bloom (bout one month) mny flowers on experimentl trees were not pollinted. Ashi ppliction ccelerted the bloom by 2 dys. Then, the wether conditions were fvourble to the flight of bees nd to pollintion. It is likely tht for tht reson more flowers were pollinted nd

12 more fruitlets set on the trees treted with Ashi. Lter, the wether hs broken, becme wet nd chilly, nd this resulted in prolonged bloom, but poor pollintion on the untreted trees. The use of Ashi cused distinct improvement of fruit set (Fig. 1 A, 1B nd 1C). The effect of Ashi ws significnt before nd fter June drop. On the verge, the fruit set ws incresed t the beginning (before June drop) by 17-26% in `Jongold` nd by 9-16% in `Elstr`, depending on the Ashi rte. The finl fruit set (fter June drop) ws incresed in `Jongold` by bout 12% nd in `Elstr` by 12-19%, compred with control. The tendency to more intensive June drop fter some tretments with Ashi ws noted (Fig. 1C). The sprys-with Ashi did not hve ny significnt effect on pple yield, probbly becuse of too high vribility of the experimentl trees in this respect. The fruitlets on trees of both cultivrs, locted in the lower nd middle prts of the orchrd were dmged by frost to different degree. Nevertheless, yield of `Jongold` pples from the trees treted with Ashi ws by 28-46% higher thn in control, depending on the concentrtion used. A lrge, 33% increse of yield ws lso recorded in `Elstr` trees following pplictions of Ashi t the concentrtion of 0.1% (Fig. 1D nd 1E). Ashi SL cused the increse of men fruit mss in both cultivrs by 9-15% in `Jongold`, nd by 7-20% in `Elstr`, depending on the concentrtion of the biostimultor. In cse of `Jongold`, the effect of Ashi on fruit size ws sttisticlly confirmed for both doses. In `Elstr`, however, only the lower dose of the preprtion cused the significnt increse of fruit size (Fig. 1F). A B NUMBER OF FRUITS PER 100 FLOWER CLUSTERS FRUITS SET [% of control] Liczb owoców n 100 kwitostnów Zwi¹zywnie owoców [% kontroli] 100 30 `JONAGOLD` `ELSTAR` `JONAGOLD` `ELSTAR` 80 25 c b c 20 60 b 15 40 b 10 b b 20 b 5 0 0 /Kontrol ASAHI 0.05% ASAHI 0.1% /Kontrol ASAHI 0.05% ASAHI 0.1% /Kontrol ASAHI 0.05% ASAHI 0.1% /Kontrol ASAHI 0.05% ASAHI 0.1% BEFORE JUNE DROP/przed opdem czerwcowym AFTER JUNE DROP/po opdzie czerwcowym

13 C D 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 /Kontrol JUNE DROP Opd czerwcowy `JONAGOLD` `ELSTAR` 200 160 120 80 40 0 /Kontrol ASAHI 0.05% ASAHI 0.05% ASAHI 0.1% ASAHI 0.1% /Kontrol ASAHI 0.05% /Kontrol ASAHI 0.1% ASAHI 0.05% ASAHI 0.1% 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 /Kontrol YIELD [kg per tree] Plon owoców [kg n drzewo] `JONAGOLD` `ELSTAR` ASAHI 0.05% ASAHI 0.1% /Kontrol 120 100 INCREMENT OF YIELD [% of control] Plon [% kontroli] MEAN FRUIT WEIGHT [g] Œredni ms owoców [g] 80 60 40 20 0 /Kontrol ASAHI 0.05% ASAHI 0.1% /Kontrol ASAHI 0.05% ASAHI 0.1% ASAHI 0.05% ASAHI 0.1% E F `JONAGOLD` `ELSTAR` `JONAGOLD` `ELSTAR` FIGURE 1. EFFECTS OF BIOSTIMULATORS USED IN THE EXPERIMENTS 4 AND 5: A NUMBER OF FRUITS PER 100 CLUSTERS AFTER JUNE DROP; B FRUIT SET IN DIFFERENT TREATMENTS, EXPRESSED AS % OF FRUIT SET IN ; C JUNE DROP [%] (DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FRUIT SET BEFORE AND AFTER JUNE DROP); D YIELD [kg per tree]; E YIELD [% of control]; F MEAN FRUIT MASS [g] Rysunek 1. Efekty zstosowni biostymultorów w doœwidczenich 4 i 5; A liczb owoców n 100 kwitostnów, po opdzie czerwcowym; B zwi¹znie owoców w poszczególnych kombincjch, wyr- ony w % w stosunku do kontroli; C opd czerwcowy [%] (ró nic zwi¹zni owoców przed i po opdzie czerwcowym); C plon [kg n drzewo]; D plon [% kontroli]; F œredni ms owocu [g]

14 EXPERIMENT 6 The effect of Ashi SL, consisting in producing pples of uniform size ws more pronounced in `Elstr`; in this cultivr both doses of Ashi incresed the percentge of pples >75 mm in dimeter. In `Jongold`, only the lower concentrtion of Ashi slightly (though not significntly) incresed the proportion of the lrgest pples, i.e. of those hving >80 mm in dimeter (dt re not shown). The ssessment of the red colour of pples clerly indicted tht the fruits from the upper prt of the orchrd, where cropping ws bundnt, were not s well coloured s those from the lower nd middle prts of the orchrd, where the fruit lod ws smller. Only in `Jongold`, colortion of fruits treted with the higher dose of Ashi ws better thn of fruits from control trees (dt not shown). Experiments 6 nd 7. The results of these experiments hve not fully confirmed the results obtined in the experiments 4 nd 5, conducted ner Lublin. This discrepncy ws pprently due to different wether conditions during bloom period t two experimentl sites [Bsk 2001]. In Lublin, the frost cme when pple trees were in bloom., thus cusing extensive dmge to flowers nd young fruitlets. In contrst, t Skierniewice no frost occurred, fruit set ws stisfctory nd trees produced fruits of exceptionlly high qulity. It is not surprising tht under such conditions the effects of Ashi, tht ws supposed to fvour better fruit set nd development, ppered non-signifi- EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT BIOSTIMULATORS ON FRUIT SET, YIELD AND QUALITY OF `JONAGOLD` APPLES- Wp³yw ró nych biostymultorów n zwi¹zywnie owoców, plon i jkoœæ jb³ek odminy Jongold doœwidczenie 6 TABLE 4. Tbel 4. SUBSEQUENT FLOWERING INTENSITY IN A 5-DEGREE SCALE Intensywnoœæ kwitnieni w nstêpnym roku w skli 5-stopniowej SOLUBLE SOLIDS CONTENT Zwrtoœæ ekstrktu [%] FIRMNESS [lb] Jêdrnoœæ [funty] HEIGHT/ DIAMETER RATIO IN FRUITS Stosunek wysokoœci do œrednicy owocu FRUITS >90 mm in O Owoce o O >90 mm [%] MEAN FRUIT MASS Œredni ms owocu [g] YIELD PER TREE Plon z drzew [kg] NUMBER O F FRUITS AFTER JUNE DROPPER 100 CLUSTERS Liczb owoców po opdzie czerwcowym n 100 kwitostnów TREATMENT Trktownie 83.6 b 29. 0 24 7 23. 1 0.90 11. 0 13. 4 3.4 Kontrol Tytnit 0.02% 63.2 b 28. 3 22 9 34. 5 0.91 b 10. 7 13. 6 3.7 Tytnit 0.04% 57.2 28. 6 25 1 27. 5 0.92 b 10. 7 13. 2 3.6 Ashi 0.05% 56.8 29. 3 26 4 37. 8 0.91 b 11. 0 13. 6 3.8 Ashi 0.1% 76.6 b 25. 1 27 1 42. 0 0.93 b 11. 2 13. 8 3.9 b Frigocur 0.1% 60.4 b 29. 1 26 8 35. 7 0.92 b 10. 6 13. 3 4.7 b Kelpk 0.2% 96.7 b 28. 0 25 0 24. 7 0.91 b 10. 5 13. 1 3.9 b Help 4% 93.6 b 24. 4 26 0 23. 5 0.92 b 11. 5 13. 6 3.9 b SEE TABLE 1 EXPLANATIONS 1. FOR OTHER pod tbel¹ NON-SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN THE PARAMETER, ró nice w tych wskÿnikch nieistotne, pozost³e objœnieni

15 EXPERIMENT 7 EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT BIOSTIMULATORS ON FRUIT SET, YIELD AND QUALITY OF `ELSTAR` APPLES Wp³yw ró nych biostymultorów n zwi¹zywnie owoców, plon i jkoœæ jb³ek odminy Elstr doœwidczenie 7 TABLE 7. Tbel 5. SOLUBLE SOLIDS CONTENT Zwrtoœæ ekstrktu [%] FIRMNESS [LB] Jêdrnoœæ [funty] PERCENTAGE OF APPLES RUSSETED ON: Procent owoców ordzwionych n: O FRUITS mm in >90 MEAN FRUIT MASS Œredni ms owocu [g] YIELD PER TREE Plon z drzew [kg] NUMBER OF FRUITS AFTER JUNE DROPPER 100 CLUSTERS Liczb owoców po opdzie czerwcowym n 100 kwitostnów TREATMENT Kombincj Owoce O >90 mm o [%] >50% OF SKIN SURFACE >50% powierzchni <25% OF SKIN SURFACH <25% powierzchni 115.6 34.1 b 135 23. 4 15.7 29.6 b 9.6 b 13.6 b Kontrol Tytnit 0.02% 124.7 b 29.3 b 141 b 25. 4 19.5 b 28.7 b 8.8 13.0 b Tytnit 0.04% 116.3 31.4 b 139 b 33. 1 22.1 b 21.8 b 9.5 b 13.5 b Ashi 0.05% 97.4 33.1 b 141 b 41. 2 23.1 b 20.1 b 9.1 b 9.9 Ashi 0.1% 96.8 37.5 b 141 b 36. 7 25.4 b 18.0 b 9.1 b 12.7 b Frigocur 0.1% 121.1 31.5 b 150 b 44. 2 24.5 b 19.4 b 9.4 b 13.4 b Kelpk 0.2% 111.2 31.5 b 135 24. 3 26.4 b 18.3 b 9.4 b 13.0 b Help 4% 166.5 b 27.4 148 b 34. 4 30.4 b 17.0 10.6 b 14.1 b SEE TABLE 1. w tbeli 1. EXPLANATIONS Objœnieni jk cnt in terms of yield or fruit qulity chrcteristics (Tb. 4 nd 5). Appliction of Ashi cused slight reduction of fruit set, tht ws unexpected (Tb. 4 nd 5). In this cse, however, it ws pprently beneficil. On the unspryed, control trees the fruit set ws too hevy nd thinning should hve been crried out. No effect of Ashi on men fruit mss or yield in `Jongold` nd `Elstr` ws found in these trils. Ashi pplied t 0.1% cused chnge in shpe of `Jongold` pples; fruits from treted trees becme elongted, tht ws mnifested by higher height/dimeter rtio (Tb. 4). No significnt effect of Ashi on the internl qulity prmeters (firmness nd soluble solids content) ws found in `Jongold` pples (Tb. 4). In`Elstr` Ashi hd no effect on pple firmness, but significntly reduced the soluble solids content when pplied t 0.05% (Tb. 5). Probbly this ws the reson why `Elstr` pples were not so well coloured, especilly when Ashi ws used t the lower concentrtion. No effect of Ashi on skin russeting of pples ws noted. No effect of Ashi on the intensity of flowering in the following yer ws recorded in `Jongold` trees (Tb. 4). The `Elstr` trees in the experiment 7 hd not ny flowers following the Ashi ppliction. In the experiments 6 nd 7, no significnt effect of the prepr-

16 tion Tytnit on fruit set ws found. However, the cultivrs Jongold nd Elstr responded to the preprtion in different wy. On `Jongold` trees the number of fruits per 100 clusters ws by 25-32 lower thn on the control trees. Yet this ws beneficil becuse the control trees set fruits too hevily nd required some thinning. On the other hnd, ppliction of the smller dosge of Tytnit to `Elstr` trees resulted in slightly better fruit set (by 12 per 100 clusters). Tytnit hd not ny significnt effect on pple yield compred with the other tretments (Tb. 4 nd 5). All trees produced very high crops. Higher yields would hve been undesirble. No significnt effect of Tytnit on the men fruit mss ws noted (Tb. 4 nd 5). All pples of both cultivrs were very lrge. However, the tretments with Tytnit improved the size distribution of pples. In both cultivrs, more lrge pples (>90 mm in `Jongold` nd >75 mm in `Elstr`) were hrvested from the treted thn from the control trees, lbeit the differences were not significnt. The tretments with the preprtion Tytnit improved slightly the colortion of `Jongold` pples (dt re not shown). The preprtion hd no definite effect on russeting or ny indices of internl fruit qulity. No effect of Tytnit on intensity of subsequent flowering ws found either (Tb. 4). Frigocur, preprtion tht hs been lredy used for mny yers in commercil orchrds in Hungry [Ztyko 1999], in our trils promoted development of unusully lrge flowers s well s of the lrgest (in `Elstr`) nd the most elongted (in `Jongold`) fruits in the yer of ppliction, nd the most bundnt flowering of `Jongold` trees in the following yer (Tb. 4 nd 5). No effect of Frigocur on internl qulity prmeters ws noted. Help, used in Polnd mostly s nti-frost gent [Ho³ubowicz et l. 2004], cused significnt improvement of fruit set on `Elstr` trees s the only preprtion in the tril (Tb. 5). Fruits from trees treted with Help showed considerbly incresed men fruit mss s well s higher flesh firmness nd higher soluble solids content (Tb. 4 nd 5). However, bove ll, Help cused the significnt reduction of russeting nd the best red colortion of `Elstr` pples. No distinct effect of Help on yield or fruit qulity or on the intensity of subsequent flowering ws found in `Jongold` (Tb. 4). In the presented experiments, the effect of Kelpk ws mnifested minly by the more intense growth of shoots nd leves. However, in other experiments, some effects of Kelpk on fruit set or on fruit qulity prmeters were noted [Msny et l. 2004, Bsk 2008]. CONCLUSIONS Among the preprtions tested, Ashi nd Frigocur were found to be the most effective. The results of these experiments provided evidence confirming the usefulness of the preprtion Ashi in preventing frost dmge cused in orchrds by lte spring frosts. The effects of Ashi re prticulrly obvious nd beneficil fter its ppliction in orchrds ffected by severe frost occurring soon fter bloom. Ashi cuses then n increse of fruit set nd of the men fruit mss. As result, the yield of pples from `Jongold` trees incresed on our trils by 28-46%, nd tht from `Elstr` trees by 33%. The use of Ashi in the sme wy in nother orchrd, where no frost occurred nd the

trees were grown under optiml mngement, resulted in only smll increse in pple size nd of the proportion of the lrgest nd best-coloured pples. Following its use t the higher concentrtion, Ashi slightly improved internl qulity of pples (firmness nd soluble solids content) nd cused better flowering in the following yer, prticulrly of the cultivr `Jongold`. In tht orchrd, ll trees yielded very well, so ny mesures imed t improvement of these trits were not necessry or even could hve negtive effect. Frigocur cuses development of unusully strong flowers on pple trees. Its ppliction results in production of lrge fruits in the yer of ppliction nd in the bundnt flowering in the following yer. The effects of Tytnit re mbiguous. They depend on the seson, on the phenologicl stge blossoms or of fruitltes the time of ppliction s well s on cultivr or rte of ppliction. This is especilly evident on `Conference` per trees. In ll cses, trees spryed with Tytnit were distinguished by the intense green colour of their leves. The preprtion Help, pplied only once, t flowering, during the seson without frosts, cused significnt improvement of fruit set on `Elstr` trees, nd the resulting fruits hd the highest firmness, the lest russeting, the best red colortion nd considerbly incresed men fruit mss. The effect of Kelpkâ, pplied once during flowering, mnifested itself primrily in more intense growth of shoots nd leves. REFERENCES Bsk A. 2001: Biostymultory preprty do stosowni w wrunkch stresu. Sd Nowoczesny, (3), 31-32. Bsk A. 2001b: Stosownie preprtu Tytnit w sdch. Owoce Wrzyw Kwity, (7), 39-40. Bsk A. 2002: Czy Ashi poprwi owocownie jb³oni. Owoce Wrzyw Kwity, (14), 20. Bsk A. 2004: Bioregultory stosowne w sdownictwie w œwietle wytycznych UE. Owoce Wrzyw Kwity, (8), 28. Bsk A. 2008. Effect of prehrvest tretment with seweed products, Kelpk nd Goëmr BM 86, on fruit qulity in pple. Interntionl Journl of Fruit Science, 8(1-2), 1-14. Bsk A., Mikos-Bielk M. 2002: Ashi SL Wp³yw biostymulcji n roœliny sdownicze. Sd Nowoczesny, (3), 34. Bsk A., Mikos-Bielk M. 2003: Wp³yw preprtu Ashi n owocownie jb³oni po wyst¹pieniu wiosennych przymrozków. XIII Seminrium Sdownicze Mrozoodpornoœæ, Poznñ 14-15 mj, pp. 88-93. Ho³ubowicz T., Bsk A., Pcholk E. 2004: Skutecznoœæ preprtu HELP w ochronie kwitów roœlin sdowniczych przed uszkodzenimi przez wiosenne przymrozki. Foli Horticulture, 16(2), 65-69. Msny A., Bsk A., urwicz E. 2004: Effect of folir ppliction of Kelpk nd Goemr BM 86 preprtions on yield nd fruit qulity in two strwberry cultivrs. J. of Fruit nd Ornmentl Plnt Reserch, 12, 23-27. Mtyjszczyk E. 2007: Stn ktulny dopuszczeni œrodków ochrony roœlin do stosowni w rolnictwie konwencjonlnym i ekologicznym w Polsce. Wydwnictwo Instytutu Ochrony Roœlin w Poznniu, pp. 13-16. Obid H., Nog G. 1996: Vitmin E (lf-tocoferol) ginst oxidtive stress in pple trees. Int. Conference on Integrted Fruit Production, 28.08-02.09. Cedzyni, Polsk, IOBC/wprs Bull., 26(2), 427-428. Rdemcher W. 2004: Recent sitution nd trends in globl plnt bioregultor utiliztion. Regultion of Plnt Growth nd Development, 39(1), 142-151. Ztyko I. 1999: FRIGOCUR increses crop productivity. [In:] Qulity, profitbility, helthy fruit (Minõség, gzdságosság, egészséges termék). Hungrin Apple Bord nd the Reserch nd Extension Centre for Fruit Growing, Ujfeherto, Hungry. pp 59. 17

18 QUALITY OF `CONFERENCE` PEARS AS AFFECTED BY GOËMAR BM 86 AND FRUTON Jn B³szczyk University of Agriculture in Krkow, Polnd INTRODUCTION Incresing consumer demnds nd mrket competition hs forced fruit growers to produce high qulity fruits [Toml et l. 2006]. Fruits should hve n ttrctive, ppernce, dequte size, tste nd flesh firmness, be juicy nd present good storbility nd retil fetures. According to Eccher-Zerbini [2002], texture, juiciness, tste, freshness nd typicl rom re importnt, t consumer mturity in prticulr. Pers with good eting qulity hve juicy, buttery nd melting texture with good per flvour [Eccher Zerbini 2002]. However, some consumers tht pers with crispy nd juicy texture to buttery nd melting one [Hoehn et l. 1996]. Minerl content is one of mjor fctors determining qulity nd storbility of fruits [Brmlge et l. 1993]. Clcium is of specil importnce, influencing mny metbolic pthwys. It increses cell wll resistnce nd rigidity, this wy decresing susceptibility to storge disorders [Mrschner 1995]. The increse of fruit clcium content leds to the increse of fruit firmness, delys fruit ripening nd prevents clcium-relted disorders [Zocchi nd Mignni 1995]. According to Frnces et l. [1999] nd Rese [1994], intensive clcium tretments hd only slight effect on retention of firmness. Nevertheless, even reltively smll increse in the fruit clcium level cn be effective in preventing or t lest considerbly reducing the economicl losses cused by vr.ious storge disorders [Sure 2002]. High fruit clcium content fvours the decrese of respirtion rtes nd dely of fruit senescence [Poovih 1993, Toml nd Trzk 1994]. High fruit qulity nd its retinbility during storge is often impossible with only trditionl techniques. In the lst yers some gents enhncing fruit qulity ppered, however. Ones of them re Goëmr BM 86 nd Fruton, tht constitute prt of recently implemented Fruit Qulity Drft Progrmme [Aryst 2006] Goëmr BM 86 is n orgnic-minerl fertiliser, which contins n extrct of lge Ascophyllum nodosum with ddition of mcro- nd microelements (N, Mg, B). It is used to increse fruit size by ffecting cell division nd development fter fecundtion, t the phse of fruit set [Aryst 2006] Fruton is clcium fertiliser (clcium chloride). It increses fruit clcium content, thus ffecting fruit qulity nd storbility [Aryst 2006]

MATERIAL AND METHODS The trils were crried out t the Grlic Murown Reserch Sttion ner Krków in the yers 2004-2006. `Conference` per trees, grfted on Pyrus communis vr. cucsic seedlings (plnted in 1978) or on quince S (plnted in 2000), served s n experimentl mteril. Two tretments (progrmme nd control) were compred. The progrmme consisted in sprying trees three times: with Goëmr BM 86 t the rte of 3 litres per h one week before bloom, t full bloom nd one week fter bloom, nd then with Fruton lso three times 4 weeks fter bloom nd in mid-july t 5 litres per h nd finlly in mid-august t 10 litres per h. After hrvest, pers were stored in norml tmosphere t 0.5-0 0 C nd 88-90% reltive humidity for 150 dys nd then were subjected to ripening t 17 0 C (simulted shelf-life) for dditionl 7 dys. The treted pers were compred with non-treted ones. After hrvest, the men fruit weight nd the proportion of fruits in prticulr size clsses were recorded. Flesh firmness (8-mm plunger), titrtble cidity nd soluble solids content were determined on 20 rndomly chosen fruits. The bove mentioned mesurements were lso crried out fter storge nd fter the simulted shelf life. Fruit weight loss nd fungl decy were lso evluted. The experimentl dt were subjected to the nlysis of vrince using Sttistic 7.0 progrmme. The tretment mens were seprted by multiple Duncn`s test t the level of significnce α = 0.05. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Tretments pplied within the progrmme resulted in significnt increse of men fruit weight in both tril plots (Tb. 1). Considering the evidence reported by B³szczyk [2007], this ws pprently due to the pplictions of Goëmr BM 86. In ech yer of the experiment, pers from the progrmme plots were lrger thn the control ones. For `Conference` pers grfted on quince S, the verge weight increment ws 16.5%, wheres for those grown on Pyrus communis vr. cucsic 15.5%. The differences noted in 2005 were more pronounced thn in 2004 nd 2006. This ws due to the spring frost tht occurred t bloom time ( 8 0 C in the 3 rd decde of April,) tht resulted in low crops. Pers treted with Goëmr BM 86 hd better yield structure, mnifested by significntly incresed proportion of lrge fruits nd in decresed percentge of smll ones (Tb. 1). Over 80% of fruits from trees grfted on quince S nd 74% of fruits from trees on Pyrus communis vr. cucsic hd dimeter >60 mm. This confirmed the erlier findings of B³szczyk [2007] who reported high effectiveness of Goëmr BM 86 used for increse of fruit size of `Conference` nd `Dicolor` pers. Fruit minerl element content, especilly C level, ffects the fruit storbility [Fllhi et l. 1997]. Some uthors [Wójcik 2004] pointed out t the beneficil effect of folir fertilistion on C fruit content. For this purpose, Fruton ws used in our study. Problems of fungl decy of stored pers re experienced in ll countries with per production. Although severl distinct species of fungi cn cuse per decy, pers re universlly ttcked by Penicillium expnsum (blue mould rot) nd Botritis cinere (grey mould rot) Sugr 2002. Chemicls used significntly reduced decy of stored fruits, especilly 19

20 TABLE 1. PROPORTION OF FRUITS > 60 PERCENTAGE OF FUNGAL DECAY Tbel 1. Udzi³ owoców o œrednicy > 60 TREATMENT Kombincj PROGRAMME Progrm Kontrol PROGRAMME Progrm Kontrol PROGRAMME Progrm Kontrol MM IN DIAMETER, MEAN WEIGHT OF 100 FRUITS AND mm, œredni ms 100 owoców orz procent gruszek zgnitych `CONFERENCE`/QUINCE S `Konferencj`/pigw S 2004 2005 2006 MEAN FOR 3 YEARS Œrednio z 3 lt 82,7 b 66,1 12,9 b 11,6 0,2 0,6 b F RUITS WITH DIAMETER > 60 m m [% ] Owoce o œrednicy > 60 mm [%] 82,2 b 69,1 18,4 b 14,0 2,4 6,6 b 82,9 b 65,1 82,6 b 66,8 `CONFERENCE`/ P. cucsic `Konferencj`/grusz kuksk 2004 2005 2006 MEAN FOR 3 YEARS Œrednio z 3 lt 83,0 b 42,2 M EAN WEIGHT OF 100 FRUITS [ kg] Œredni ms 100 owoców [kg] 11,1 b 10,6 14,1 b 12,1 13,1 b 11,4 F UNGAL DECAY [% ] Gnicie powodowne przez grzyby [%] 3,2 3,7 b 1,9 3,6 b 1,1 2,4 b 66,1 b 42,4 17,3 b 14,3 3,6 7,6 b 73,2 b 39,3 11,8 b 10,9 4,5 4,9 b 74,1 b 41,3 14,1 b 12,2 3,1 5,0 b MEANS WITHIN A COLUMN, FOLLOWED BY THE SAME LETTER, ARE NOT DIFFERENT AT = 0,05. Œrednie w obrêbie kolumny, oznczone tymi smymi litermi, nie ró ni¹ siê istotnie przy = 0,05. TABLE 2. FIRMNESS [kg] OF `CONFERENCE` PEARS Tbel 2. Jêdrnoœæ gruszek [kg] odminy Konferencj TREATMENT Kombincj PROGRAMME Progrm Kontrol PROGRAMME Progrm Kontrol PROGRAMME Progrm Kontrol `Conference`/QUINCE S `Konferencj`/pigw S 2004 2005 2006 MEAN FOR 3 YEARS Œrednio z 3 lt 6,9 6,9 5,1 b 4,9 2,2 2,1 7,1 b 6,7 3,3 3,3 2,3 b 1,8 FOR EXPLANATIONS SEE TABLE 1. Objœnieni jk w tbeli 1. 6,6 b 6,3 3,4 b 2,7 AT HARVEST W czsie zbioru 6,9 b 6,6 AFTER STORAGE Po przechowywniu 3,9 b 3,6 `C onference`/p. cucsic `Konferencj`/grusz kuksk 2004 2005 2006 MEAN FOR 3 YEARS Œrednio z 3 lt 7,0 b 6,8 5,2 5,2 AFTER SIMULATED SHELF-LIFE Po okresie symulownego obrotu 2,2 b 1,6 2,2 b 1,8 2,2 b 2,0 6,8 6,9 3,0 b 2,8 1,6 1,6 7,3 b 6,9 4,3 b 3,7 2,0 1,9 7,0 6,9 4,2 b 3,9 1,9 1,8

Gloeosporium rot nd blue mould (Penicillium expnsum) Tble 1. In ech yer of study, pers treted ccording to the Qulity Drft Progrmme were infected to lesser degree. This confirms results of G¹sto³ et l. [2006] who noted tht clcium fertilisers hd exerted beneficil effect on overll fungl decy incidence. The effect of the progrmme on fruit firmness ws prticulrly evident in trees grfted on quince S. In this cse, flesh firmness fter hrvest, fter storge nd fter simulted shelf-life period ws higher in the treted thn in the control pers. (Tb. 2). The sme tendency ws found for fruits from trees grown on Pyrus communis vr. cucsic seedlings, but only fter storge; no significnt differences were noted fter hrvest or fter simulted shelf life. The flesh firmness of pers fter storge should not be lower thn 4 kg [Johnson nd Luton 1996]. Only in the first yer of th the experiment nd in the third yer in cse of pers from treted trees grown on Pyrus communis vr. cucsic flesh firmness fter storge ws higher thn 4 kg. In other yers the retention of firmness ws not so stisfctory. The tretments hd no effect on fruit softening, which ws similr to control fruits nd it ws bout 0.6 kg per 30 dys of storge. According to Prtell et l. [2002] the best ripening stge for consumption ws tht represented by fruits with firmness of 0.8-1.2 kg. In this experiment, the finl firmness of pers fter 7 dys of simulted shelf life ws higher (1.8-2.2 kg, on the verge). This could ensure n dequte resistnce ginst mechnicl dmge during trnsporttion nd distribution. It is worth mentioning tht even lrger pers treted ccording to the progrmme hd the sme flesh firmness s the smller control ones. The reverse results were obtined by de Slvdor et l. [2006]. 21 TABLE 3. TITRATABLE ACIDITY OF `Conference` PEARS [% OF MALIC ACID] Tbel 3. Kwsowoœæ gruszek odminy Konferencj [% kwsu jb³kowego] TREATMENT Kombincj PROGRAMME Progrm Kontrol PROGRAMME Progrm Kontrol PROGRAMME Progrm Kontrol `Conference`/QUINCE S `Konferencj`/pigw S 2004 2005 2006 MEAN FOR 3 YEARS Œrednio z 3 lt 0.25 0.26 0.19 0.17 0.17 0.15 0.24 0.25 0.23 b 0.18 0.19 b 0.17 b FOR EXPLANATIONS SEE TABLE 1. Objœnieni jk w tbeli 1. 0.22 0.32 b 0.19 0.23 b AT HARVEST W czsie zbioru 0.24 0.28 b AFTER STORAGE Po przechowywniu 0.20 0.19 `Conference`/ P. cucsic `Konferencj`/grusz kuksk 2004 2005 2006 MEAN FOR 3 YEARS Œrednio z 3 lt 0.27 b 0.23 0.17 0.15 AFTER SIMULATED SHELF-LIFE Po okresie symulownego obrotu 0.16 0.22 b 0.17 0.18 0.17 b 0.13 0.18 0.19 0.17 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.25 b 0.27 b 0.20 0.19 0.19 b 0.17 b 0.23 0.23 0.18 0.17 0.17 b 0.15 b

22 In 2006, the control pers coming from trees grfted on quince S hd, t ech dte of mesurement, higher titrtble cidity thn pers treted with Goëmr BM 86 nd Fruton (Tb. 3). In the other yers of study the differences were not sttisticlly significnt. The rte of orgnic cid reduction fter storge nd fter simulted shelf-life ws higher in control pers (0.10% nd 0.08% in fruits from trees on quince S nd on Pyrus communis vr. cucsic, respectively), wheres in pers treted ccording to the progrmme the vlues of cidity were 0.06-0.07%. Grci nd Streif [1993] found tht pers during the long-term storge lost bout 1/3 of their initil cid content. It is worth to emphsise tht in this study preservtion of cidity in the treted pers ws high. The products used in the progrmme hd not ny effect on the soluble solids content of pers from trees grfted on quince S rootstock (Tb. 4). In pers from trees on Pyrus communis vr. cucsic seedling rootstock, the progrmme employed cused reduction of the soluble solids content. Increse of soluble solids content ws observed in treted nd control pers fter 150 dys of storge nd fter ripening. This confirmed the results of Schwrz [1990] nd Höhn nd Dätwyler [1994]. The serious problem ssocited with per storge is high trnspirtion [B³szczyk nd ysik 2001]. The skin of pers is not coted with wxes nd frequently is porous nd this stimultes trnspirtion. According to Streif [1992] weight loss of pers kept in cold storge reches bout 1% per 30 dys of storge. Our results hve shown, tht in the yers 2004 nd 2005, trnspirtion rte of pers from trees on Pyrus communis vr. cucsic ws high. After 150 dys of storge the weight loss rtes were higher thn 1% per month (Tb. 5). After storge nd fter the simulted shelf-life period, both TABLE 4. SOLUBLE SOLIDS CONTENT [%] OF `CONFERENCE` PEARS Tbel 4. Zwrtoœæ ekstrktu [%] w gruszkch odminy Konferencj TREATMENT Kombincj PROGRAMME Progrm CONTRO L Kontrol PROGRAMME Progrm CONTRO L Kontrol PROGRAMME Progrm CONTRO L Kontrol `Conference`/QUINCE S `Konferencj`/pigw S 2004 2005 2006 MEAN FOR 3 YEARS Œrednio z 3 lt 12.4 b 11.6 13.1 13.0 13.4 13.7 12.8 14.1 b 13.1 14.0 b 15.0 b 14.6 FOR EXPLANATIONS SEE TABLE 1. Objœnieni jk w tbe li 1. 13.6 b 13.2 14.5 b 13.6 AT HARVEST W czsie zbioru 12.9 12.9 AFTER STORAGE Po przechowywniu 13.6 13.5 `Co nference`/ P. cucsic `Konferencj`/grusz kuksk 2004 2005 2006 MEAN FOR 3 YEARS Œrednio z 3 lt 11.8 13.0 b 13.2 13.8 b AFTER SIMULATED SHELF-LIFE Po okresie symulownego obrotu 13.9 b 13.4 14.1 13.9 13.7 14.6 b 12.0 13.5 b 12.8 12.7 13.1 13.9 b 12.0 14.6 b 12.6 15.0 b 12.2 14.5 b 11.9 13.7 b 12.9 13.8 b 13.0 14.3 b

23 TABLE 5. WEIGHT LOSSES OF PEARS [%] Tble 5. Ubytek msy gruszek [%] TREATMENT Kombincj PROGRAMME Progrm Kontrol PROGRAMME Progrm Kontrol `Conference`/QUINCE S `Konferencj`/pigw S MEAN FOR TREATMENT Œrednio z 3 lt `Conference`P /. cucsic `Konferencj`/grusz kuksk 2004 2005 2006 2004 2005 2006 5.39 8.46 b 7.64 10.00 b 5.48 7.48 7.55 8.96 EXPLANATION SEE TABLE 2. Objœnieni: jk w tbeli 2. 5.66 8.67 b AFTER STORAGE Po przechowywniu 5.55 8.42 4.29 b 5.53 b AFTER SIMULATED SHELF-LIFE Po okresie symulownego obrotu 8.08 10.75 8.02 10.69 5.52 7.11 b 4.10 5.04 5.54 6.24 5.10 7.55 b 7.08 9.28 b MEAN FOR TREATMENT Œrednio z 3 lt 5.04 6.98 7.03 8.63 treted nd non-treted pers from trees grown on quince were similr in respect to the weight losses. Pers from trees on Pyrus communis vr. cucsic rootstock showed higher weight losses when they hd been treted ccording to the Progrmme. CONCLUSIONS The results obtined hve shown high effectiveness of the gents pplied within the Fruit Qulity Drft Progrmme in improvement of fruit qulity. This ws especilly evident in respect to men fruit weight nd proportion of lrge fruits in totl yield. Fruit decy ws lso reduced. Goëmr BM 86 nd Fruton hd lso beneficil influence on some internl fruit qulity trits, s fruit firmness nd titrtble cidity, during the storge nd mturtion. REFERENCES Aryst LifeScience. 2006. Ochron roœlin sdowniczych, 13-17. B³szczyk J., ysik G. 2001. Storge properties of Czech per cultivrs. `Eric` nd `Dicolor` J. Fruit Ornm. Plnt Res., 9(1-4), 71-76. B³szczyk J. 2007: Wp³yw preprtów Goëmr BM 86 i Fruton n jkoœæ i w³œciwoœci przechowlnicze gruszek odminy `Konferencj` i `Dicolor`. Rocz. AR Poznñ, 383(Ogrodnictwo 41), 279-284. Brmlge W. J., Brden C. L., Wtkins C. B. 1993. Compring potentil predictors of scld susceptibility of pples (Mlus domestic Borkh.). Act Hortic., 326, 237-244. Eccher Zerbini P. 2002: The qulity of per fruit. Act Hortic., 596, 805-810. Fllhi E., Conwy W. S., Hickey K. D., Sms C. E. 1997: The role of clcium nd nitrogen in posthrvest qulity nd disese resistnce of pples. HortScience, 32, 831-835. Frnces J., Jun J. L., Montesinos E., Vilrdell P. 1999. Minimised post-hrvest chemicl tretments, fruit density per tree nd clcium sprys ffect the storbility of `Psse Crssne` nd `Conference` pers in Giron (Spin). Act Hortic., 485, 161-166.

24 Grci J. M., Streif J. 1993. Qulität und Hltbrkeit von Birnen. I. Einfluss von CA- bzw. ULO-Lgerbedingungen. Grtenbuwissenschft., 58(1), 36-41. G¹sto³ M., B³szczyk J., Domg³-Œwi¹tkiewicz I. 2006. Effect of different folir sprys on the storge potentil nd fruit qulity of `Conference` pers. Veget. Crops Res. Bull., 65, 195-201. Hoehn E., Detwyler D., Gsser F. 1996. Mturity indices to predict optimum hrvest dte for the storge of `Conference` pers in Switzerlnd. In: de Jger A., Johnson D., Hoehn E. Determintion nd prediction of optimum hrvest dte of pples nd pers, pp. 149-156 in COST 94. The posthrvest tretment of fruit nd vegetbles. Edited by ECSC-EC-EAEC, Brussels, Luxembourg. Höhn E., Dätwyler D. 1994. Optimler Pflückzeitpunkt von Conference. Obst- und Weinbu. 19, 442-445. Johnson D. S., Luton M. T. 1996. Mturity indices to predict optimum hrvest dte for the storge of `Conference` pers in UK. Office for Officil Publictions of the Europen Community. Luxembourg, 133-147. Mrschner R. 1995. Minerl nutrition of higher plnts. Press Acdemy, Londyn. Prtell G. C., Neri F., Brigti S., Mccferri M. 2002. Effect of post storge ripening conditions on qulity of `Brtlett` (`Willims Bon Cretien`) pers. Act Hortic., 596, 899-902. Poovih J. W. 1993. Biochemicl nd moleculr spect of clcium ction. Act Hort., 326, 139-147. Rese J. T. 1994. Effect of clcium sprys on control of blck end, fruit qulity yield nd minerl composition of `Brlett` pers. Act Hortic., 367, 314-322. Toml K., Trzk M. 1994. Occurence of cork spot (pit) in `Alexnder Lucs` pers depends on fruit minerl element content. Act Hortic., 368, 570-577. Toml K., Jêdrzejczk P., Brn D. 2006: Przechowywnie gruszek w kontrolownej tmosferze. Czynniki wp³ywj¹ce n plonownie i jkoœæ owoców roœlin sdowniczych. Mteri³y II Miêdzynrodowych Trgów Agrotechniki Sdowniczej. Wrszw, 131-142. Slvdor F. R. de, Fisichell M., Fontnri M. 2006: Correltions between fruit size nd fruit qulity in pple trees with high nd stndrd crop lod levels. J. Ornm. Plnt Res., 14, 113-122. Sure M. C. 2002. New views of the prerequisites for n occurrence of bitter pit in pple nd its control by clcium sprys. Act Hortic., 594, 421-425. Schwrz A. 1990. Essi d`entreposge frigorifique de poires en tmosphere controlee. III. Conference. Revue Suisse Vitic. Arboric. Hortic., 22(5), 307-310. Sugr D. 2002. Posthrvest physiology nd pthology of pers. Act Hort., 596, 833-838. Streif J. 1992. Ernte, Lgerung und Aufbereitung. [In:] Winter F., Jnssen H., Kennei W., Link H., Silbereisen R., Streif J. (eds). Lucs Anleitung zum Obstbu. Ulmer, Stuttgrt, 304-337. Wójcik P. 2004: Uptke of minerl nutrients from folir fertiliztion. J. Ornm. Plnt Res., 12, 201-218. Zocchi G., Mignni I. 1995. Clcium physiology nd metbolism in fruit trees. Act Hortic., 383, 15-20.