Ø
Delta GOM (syn. Delta 1): productive (6-7 kg/plant), vigorous and thorny plant, large berries
(0.48-0.50 g), orange round-oval with short pedicel (2 mm), high vitamin C (167.77 mg% at the
beginning of maturity), dry matter (20.30 g%) and acidity (2.11 g%) content,
Ø
Delta-f. S. (syn. Delta-3): productive, vigorous, thornless plant; medium weight and size (0.31 g
and 8.4/8.4 mm), orange and round berry, medium vitamin C (89.78 mg%) and sugar (0.780
g%) contents, high dry matter (24.05 g%) and acidity (3.99 g% malic acid) content,
Ø
Murgesti-1: productive, lose and thorny plant, medium size and weight (9.5/8.6 mm and 0.35 g),
orange glossy and round berry, medium-high biochemical content.
Influence of 2 Cloroethyl Phosphonic Acid Application
on Fruit Ripening and Mechanical Harvesting in
Seabuckthorn
Viorica Chitu, Paulina Mladin, Marcela Radulescu, Adina Perianu, and Gh. Stan
(Fruit Research Institute Pitesti Maracineni)
Abstract:
Investigations on the 2 cloroethyl phosphonic (ethrel) application have revealed that this
chemical product induced a rapid fruit ripening. The way of action is based on the increase in fruit
ethylene content.
The 3-factor experiment was linearly distributed in 3 replicates, with factor A: fruit cultivar =
Moldova, Murgesti, Serpeni; factor B: ethrel concentration = 3500 ppm and 5000 ppm, respectively;
factor C: time of application = September 21, October 1, October 10.
Ethrel application was manually performed and fruits were mechanically harvested by shaking
with a pneumatic vibrator (experimental model) mounted on plant branches and driven by a tractor
engine. The shaking time was 4-6 minutes.
It was found that the best time of ethrel application on plants was on September 21. 10 days after
ethrel application the results were as follows:
1. Fruit force of abscission from plant branches was 20 kgf/cm
2
at the 3,500 ppm concentration, 4
kgf/cm
2
at the 5,000 ppm concentration versus 112.4 kgf/cm
2
in the control treatment;
2. Fruit damage degree was 12% for the treated plots compared to 75% in the control plots.
For the 5,000ppm concentration treatment, 40% of total ripened fruits fell down at the first shaking
versus 1% in case of the control one.
After more shaking, 14% of the total fruit remained on the plants versus 60% in the control
treatment. A negative aspect was that 20% of the total ripened fruit dropped prior to the harvesting
time. To avoid such negative aspects, a 3,500ppm concentration is recommended.
Ethrel application did not affect the chemical fruit composition.
