The commercial adoption of the relatively new rootstock `Gisela 5' (Prunus cerasus L. × P. canescens L.) has been limited in the United States sweet cherry (P. avium L.) industry despite its ability to induce precocity and productivity and reduce scion vigor compared to the standard Mazzard (P. avium). This is due in large part to inadequate crop load management that has led to high yields of small fruit. This paper reports on sweet cherry chemical blossom thinning trials conducted in 2002 and 2003. Two percent ammonium thiosulphate (ATS), 3% to 4% vegetable oil emulsion (VOE), and tank mixes of 2% fish oil + 2.5% lime sulphur (FOLS) were applied to entire 8- and 9-year-old `Bing'/`Gisela 5' sweet cherry canopies at about 10% full bloom (FB) and again at about 90% FB. In both years, ATS and FOLS reduced fruit set by 66% to 33% compared to the control (C). VOE reduced fruit set by 50% compared to C in 2002 but had no effect in 2003. In 2002, fruit yield was 30% to 60% lower from thinned trees. In 2003, fruit yield was unaffected by thinning treatment. In 2002, ATS and FOLS improved fruit soluble solids but had no effect in 2003. VOE did not affect fruit soluble solids in 2002 and reduced fruit soluble solids by 12%, compared to C, in 2003. In 2002, each thinning treatment nearly eliminated the yield of the small fruit (≤21.5-mm diameter) and increased yield of large fruit (≥26.5 mm) by more than 400%, compared to C. In 2003, ATS and FOLS did not affect yield of small fruit but increased the yield of large fruit by 60%. In 2003, VOE-treated trees yielded 4.3 kg of small fruit per tree compared to about 0.15 kg from C, suggesting a phytotoxic response to VOE beyond that which may effect thinning. Compared to C, ATS and FOLS consistently reduced fruit set and improved fruit quality. We conclude that commercially acceptable yields of excellent quality `Bing' sweet cherries can be grown on size-controlling and precocious rootstocks.
subsequent removal and disposal of plastic after final harvest. This strategy has been examined extensively and was found to increase vegetable yields ( Hayes et al., 2019 ). Another important factor for sweetpotato production is the use of adapted
. Conditions of low rainfall, poor weed control, and high pest pressures in the southeastern United States can reduce pumpkin yield and profitability ( Stanghellini et al., 2003 ). In the Midwest region of the United States, vegetable growers commonly grow
Abbreviations: FW, fruit weight; TCSA, trunk cross-sectional area; YE, yield efficiency. 1 Associate Professor. 2 Professor. 3 Research Technician. The cost of publishing this paper was defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. Under postal
edamame cultivars have been bred for Virginia, few reports have evaluated commercially available cultivar yield potential in the mid-Atlantic United States ( Bhardwaj et al., 1996 ; Sciarappa et al., 2007 ). Virginia and the mid-Atlantic United States
of a genotype to produce a good crop when field-grown at a pH greater than 7.5. The present study was conducted with the objective of determining yield potential of various cowpea genotypes that have shown alkaline-soil tolerance in unreplicated seed
, the objective of these studies was to make carrot cultivar recommendations for commercial production and processing by evaluating carrot root yield and quality characteristics. Materials and methods Study site information. Carrot cultivars were
. 2005, 3 Oct. 2005, 25 Sept. 2006, respectively). Plants that had bolted or exhibited a growth habit different from the remainder of the plot were considered nonmarketable or an off-type and not included in yield data. Yield from individual plots was
·ha −1 material) were applied annually beginning when the first leaf began to unfurl then at ≈2-week intervals until applied five times during each growing season. Forty-nine trees were monitored annually for 5 years. Trees were harvested, yield measured
use of these materials, they should be treated to limit their possible negative impact on mycelial growth and yield, which can be accomplished either by heat treatments or chemical treatments. Among the thermal treatments, the use of steam and forced