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- Author or Editor: Richard Marini x
Twenty-eight-year-old `Starkrimson Delicious' trees were spur pruned in 1986 and 1987 and/or treated with BA + GA4+7 in 1986 in an attempt to improve spur growth and fruit weight. Yield, fruit weight, and spur quality characters were recorded for 1986-1989. All treatment combinations failed to improve yield or fruit weight. Although spur-pruning improved spur length, spur bud diameter, leaf area per spur and leaf dry weight per spur, fruit weight was not improved. BA + GA4+7 reduced yield and fruit weight, and increased the number of pygmy fruit in 1986, but had little effect on fruiting for the three years after treatment.
Six-year-old York/M.9 trees were used to evaluate combinations of chemicals for fruit thinning. In one experiment a factorial combination of 2 levels of carbaryl (0 or 600 mg·L-1) and 5 levels of 6-BA (0, 40, 80, 120, and 160 mg·L-1) were sprayed when fruit diam. averaged 10.5 mm. Carbaryl significantly reduced fruit set, number of fruit/tree, yield efficiency, and crop density, and increased fruit weight. The main effect of 6-BA did not significantly influence any response variable. Two variables were significantly influenced by the carbaryl × 6-BA interaction. In the absence of carbaryl, fruit set was reduced and fruit weight was increased by 6-BA at concentrations less than 160 mg·L-1, but the addition of 6-BA to carbaryl was no more effective than carbaryl alone. In a second experiment, a factorial combination of 2 levels of carbaryl (0 vs. 600 mg·L-1), 2 levels of NAA (0 vs. 5 mg·L-1), and 2 levels of ethephon (0 vs. 450 mg·L-1) were sprayed when fruit when fruit diam. averaged 10.5 mm. Carbaryl and NAA reduced fruit set by about 30%, but ethephon overthinned and reduced set by 65%. When the other materials were combined with ethephon, thinning was similar to ethephon alone. The combination of carbaryl and NAA was no more effective than either material alone. The lowest values for yield, yield efficiency, and numbers of fruit per tree were associated with the combination of ethephon plus NAA. Ethephon was the only material that increased fruit weight.
In five experiments with `Redchief Delicious' and one with `Braeburn', oxamyl (Vydate 2L) was used alone or combined with other chemicals to thin apples. The thinning response to oxamyl depended on dose. In most cases, oxamyl at 600 mg·L−1 and carbaryl at 900 mg·L−1 thinned trees similarly, but the combination of oxamyl plus carbaryl was no more effective than either chemical alone. The combination of oxamyl plus NAA (2.5 to 5 mL·L−1) was slightly more effective than either material alone. The thinning response to oxamyl and carbaryl was related to the concentration of superior oil added to the spray solution; for both chemicals, adding oil at 5 mg·L−1 or Tween 20 at 1.25 mL·L−1 gave equivalent thinning. Apples on trees sprayed with oxamyl plus oil had a dull finish. Adding Tween 20 at 1.25 mL·L−1 improved the thinning activity of carbaryl (Sevin XLR-Plus) more than oxamyl. Similar thinning occurred whether oxamyl was applied when fruit diameter averaged 4 or 10 mm. On `Braeburn' oxamyl, carbaryl, Accel, and NAA were mild thinners, but all combinations of oxamyl or carbaryl plus Accel or NAA overthinned the trees without improving fruit size. In general, oxamyl at 600 mg·L−1 (2 pints of vydate 2L/100 gal.) and carbaryl thin apple trees similarly, and the efficacy of both chemicals is improved by adding a surfactant.
Trunk cross-sectional area data for an NC-140 apple rootstock trial were collected in 1998. There were 18 rootstocks and 20 states, and these factors were arranged in a factorial structure; the interaction term (variety × state) was statistically significant (P < 0.05). There were 10 trees of each rootstock planted in each state, but some trees died and this created unequal numbers of observations. Historically these data would have been analyzed using PROC GLM in SAS, correctly identifying the interaction significance, and then analyzing differences for states within a rootstock, and differences for rootstocks within a state. This analysis would not take advantage of all the replication available in the study. To more appropriately utilize the available replication, and to account for the unbalanced number of observations, a macro program was written in SAS. The slice option in PROC MIXED generates individual significance levels for the rootstock factor within a state, but does not make comparisons between rootstocks within a state. The SAS macro was written to use the individual error terms and least squares means generated from PROC MIXED to make each individual Tukey's multiple comparison between rootstocks within a state. The justification for this analytical approach, the SAS macro, and the results of the analysis will be presented.
Abstract
Diffuse photon flux density of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was measured throughout the season in peach trees [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch. cv. Harken] trained to an open center. Penetration of PAR generally decreased as shoot extension continued through the season. PAR was greater at the tree periphery and center than midway between the 2 points. PAR also decreased from the upper levels to the lower levels of the tree canopy. Specific leaf weight (SLW) at all positions increased from early June until August. SLW generally followed the same pattern as PAR, with lowest SLW developing midway between the tree periphery and center. Net photosynthesis (Pn) was greatest for peripheral leaves, lowest for leaves midway into the tree, and intermediate for leaves from the tree center. Pn and SLW were linearly correlated. Leaves developing at different distances from the tree center had similar stomatal resistances. There was no consistent influence of canopy position on chlorophyll content, but interior leaves tended to have greater chlorophyll content than peripheral leaves.
Experiments with factorial arrangements of treatments plus one or more other treatment(s) are sometimes analyzed with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and means are separated with a multiple comparison. A set of single degree-of-freedom contrasts in a one-way ANOVA, provides formal tests for main effects and interactions. Data from a 2 × 3 factorial experiment that also contained a control were analyzed with a one-way ANOVA with a multiple comparison. Results from this analysis were compared to results obtained from a two-way ANOVA, a one-way ANOVA with pre-planned contrasts, a two-way ANOVA with least squares means comparisons obtained with SAS/general linear models procedure, and a regression model with an indicator variable and random blocks obtained with SAS/Mixed procedure. Results and interpretation differed depending on how the data were analyzed and these differences are discussed.
Mature `Norman'peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] trees were dormant pruned to retain a range of fruiting shoots per tree (71 to 250) during 3 years from 1997 to 1999. About 40 days after bloom each year, fruits on all trees were thinned to similar crop loads, so only the number of fruits per shoot varied. Fruit set and number of fruits removed by hand thinning were positively related to number of fruiting shoots retained per tree. Number of fruits harvested per tree was not related to number of shoots per tree, whereas average fruit weight at thinning and at harvest, and crop value per tree were negatively related to the number of shoots retained per tree. These results indicate that commercial peach producers should consider modifying pruning and thinning strategies. Rather than retaining a large number of fruiting shoots per tree and hand thinning to distribute fruits every 15 to 20 cm along each fruiting shoot, producers should first determine the number of fruits that trees of a given cultivar can adequately size and then perform the thinning operation to obtain the desired crop load. The number of fruiting shoots retained per tree during pruning should be one-fifth to one-seventh of the number of fruits desired per tree, so that five to seven fruits per fruiting shoot are retained after hand thinning.
Experiments with perennial crops often span several years, and a response variable may be measured on the same plant at several points in time. Such data are often analyzed as a split-plot design, taking time as the split-plot factor. In other cases, separate analyses are performed for each time. The mathematical conditions required for validity of these types of analyses might not hold because measurements repeated on the same plant are not independent. Annual trunk cross-sectional-area (TCSA) measurements from a peach tree training experiment will be used to compare two methods of analyses. The 6-year experiment was a factorial of two heading heights at planting (low vs. high) and two tree forms (central leader vs. open vase). Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a multivariate repeated measures analysis (MANOVA) was performed. Main effects and interactions were more often significant with ANOVA than with MANOVA. ANOVA performed each year inflated the probability of falsely rejecting a true null hypothesis (Type I error), and was not appropriate for this data set.