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Olive fruit harvest by mechanical shaking continues to be limited by poor fruit removal - less than 60% removal for most varieties. Whereas foliar spray of ethylene releasing compounds such as ethephon increases fruit removal percent, excessive leaf loss following treatment precludes commercial acceptance of the treatment. A classic case of serendipity has led to the testing of phosphorus as an olive fruit loosening agent. Na2 HPO4 at 25 mM applied via the cut stem of explants leads to massive leaf and fruit abscission. When the P source is applied at 100 mM foliar spray, fruit removal is accomplished with minimal leaf loss. Results of this investigation will cover P source, concentration, genera with abscission response and some indication of mechanism of action.
Citrate-phosphate buffer induced olive (Olea europaea L.) leaf abscission at pH 3, 5, or 7. Of several sources of P-induced leaf abscission, NaH2PO4 was the most effective. Sensitivity to P was shown by leaf abscission, leaf desiccation, or both among 32 species representing 22 genera. Applied P accumulates in petioles, but its effect on abscission does not seem to depend on ethylene production. The low P content in the ethephon molecule may have an additive effect in ethephon-induced abscission. Stem-fed NaH2PO4 or ethephon resulted in total leaf and fruit abscission. Of the chemicals applied as a foliar treatment, only NaH2PO4 caused fruit abscission with minimal leaf loss. Adding Al2O3 to adsorb P in treatment solutions delayed the abscission effect of ethephon and NaH2PO4. Adding glycerol to NaH2PO4 increased fruit abscission from 50% to ≈80% and leaf abscission from ≈9% to 18%. The presumed effect of glycerol is from slowing the drying rate and thereby increasing P penetration into the fruit abscission zone. The pedicel-fruit cavity is a collection basin for spray accumulation that is not present in the leaf petiole attachment to the stem. This morphological difference probably leads to greater absorption of abscission-inducing materials by fruit. Chemical name used: (2-chloroethyl)phosphonic acid (ethephon).
Endodormancy release and the fulfillment of the chilling requirement (CR) are critical physiological processes that enable uniform blooming in fruit tree species, including apple (Malus ×domestica). However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these traits have not been fully characterized. The objective of this study was to identify potential master regulators of endodormancy release and the CR in apple. We conducted RNA-Sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses and narrowed down the number of candidates among the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) based on the following two strict screening criteria: 1) the gene must be differentially expressed between endodormant and ecodormant buds under different environmental conditions and 2) the gene must exhibit chill unit (CU)–correlated expression. The results of our cluster analysis suggested that global expression patterns varied between field-grown buds and continuously chilled buds, even though they were exposed to similar amounts of chilling and were expected to have a similar dormancy status. Consequently, our strict selection strategy resulted in narrowing down the number of possible candidates and identified the DEGs strongly associated with the transition between dormancy stages. The genes included four transcription factor genes, PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4), FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC)-LIKE, APETALLA2 (AP2)/ETHYLENE-RESPONSIVE 113 (ERF113), and MYC2. Their expressions were upregulated during endodormancy release, and were correlated with the CU, suggesting that these transcription factors are closely associated with chilling-mediated endodormancy release in apple.