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CC BY-ND V4.0, Open Access
Thesis
Resource Conservation in Cider Apple Production
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
01/2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000004475
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/124335
Abstract
Western Washington has high costs of production and water resources are increasingly limited for cider apple production. This project evaluated orcharding methods that conserve irrigation water and pruning labor and developed a comprehensive orchard management plan to assist cider apple growers to be more cost competitive in this region. The first study evaluated reduced irrigation (RI) for cider apple production in northwestern Washington on three cider apple cultivars: Dabinett, Porter’s Perfection, and Golden Russet, in their third and fourth leaf. Moderate water stress as indicated by stem water potential did not occur either year, thus irrigation was never applied to the RI treatment plots. Trees in the RI treatment did not differ from the control treatment in vegetative growth, fruit yield, juice yield, or any juice quality attribute, but weight per fruit decreased slightly and fruit firmness increased slightly. Results indicate that fruit yield and quality in an establishing orchard can be maintained when irrigation is reduced relative to an estimated crop water balance or conventional grower practices for this region. The second study evaluated mechanical hedging on eight cider apple cultivars: Golden Russet, Harrison, Brown Snout, Cap of Liberty, Tom Putt, Campfield, Puget Spice, and Hewe’s Virginia Crab. The speed of hedging was found to be suitable for commercial production, and fruit damaged by the hedger was observed to be negligible. Summer hedging did not negatively impact fruit yield, and as it has previously been shown to conserve time and labor it appears suitable for summer pruning of a diversity of cider apple cultivars. An additional study evaluated the effects of repeatedly freezing and thawing cider apple juice. Tannin content was analyzed by the Lowenthal Permanganate titration and a protein precipitation assay adapted for cider to compare efficacy of measurement methods. Results from the study demonstrated little or no differences in juice quality after one freeze-thaw cycle, and a decrease in titratable acidity, soluble solids, total phenolics, and tannins determined by titration after three to four freeze-thaw cycles. This suggests a low risk of decrease in juice quality from conventional juice storage and analysis practices.
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Details
- Title
- Resource Conservation in Cider Apple Production
- Creators
- Aidan Kendall
- Contributors
- Carol A Miles (Advisor)Gabriel T LaHue (Advisor)Lee Kalcsits (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Horticulture, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 161
- Identifiers
- 99900882027801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis