Thesis
Withholding near-harvest irrigation in sweet cherry has minimal effect on fruit quality
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
12/2015
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/102472
Abstract
Irrigation management and fruit water relations play critical roles determining the quantity and quality of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) fruit as well as their susceptibility to rain-induced cracking. Fruit cracking remains a perennial challenge for growers despite decades of investigation. Indeed, neither empirical evidence nor anecdotal observations from commercial producers has yielded practicable irrigation management strategies for reducing fruit cracking. The objective of this study was therefore to investigate the role of near-harvest (i.e., during stage III of fruit development) irrigation on sweet cherry fruit quality and cracking susceptibility. Research trials were conducted by imposing preharvest irrigation termination in 2014 and 2015 in mature ‘Chelan’/Mazzard and ‘Lapins’/Mazzard commercial orchards. In both years and orchards, irrigation was targeted to be terminated by 20 or 10 days before harvest (DBH). Fruit yield, quality, and susceptibility to cracking, via a benchtop submersion test, were determined, comparing early irrigation termination treatments with the growers’ normal irrigation regimes (i.e., control). Soil water content, stem water potential, fruit and shoot growth rates were also recorded at ca. 3 day intervals between the onset of treatments and harvest. Fruit yield was unaffected by early irrigation termination, irrespective of cultivar. Fruit firmness of ‘Lapins’ was reduced by 6% in 2015 but both deficit treatments improved fruit soluble solids by more than 10%. In contrast, no irrigation treatment affected ‘Chelan’ fruit quality in either year. In addition, there was no consistent effect of irrigation treatment on fruit cracking index. In a separate trial, water movement through the vascular and exocarp pathways was studied on ‘Early Robin’ sweet cherry. Separate experiments evaluated the role of the pedicel on fruit cracking susceptibility, the transpiration capacity of fruit, and xylem water movement in fruit harvest at 3 Day intervals in the weeks before harvest. There was no apparent influence of the pedicel in cracking susceptibility. Transpiration estimates based on weight loss revealed a non-significant role of the pedicel up until harvest. In addition, fruit water import via the xylem did not vary with fruit maturity – it appears that water movement affecting cracking susceptibility is mainly due to water movement through the skin. Overall, withholding irrigation in the weeks prior to harvest does not consistently affect quality nor reduce cracking susceptibility.
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Details
- Title
- Withholding near-harvest irrigation in sweet cherry has minimal effect on fruit quality
- Creators
- Nadia Antonella Valverdi
- Contributors
- Matthew David Whiting (Chair)Markus Keller (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Horticulture, Department ofR Troy Peters (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Biological Systems Engineering, Department ofTodd Einhorn (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; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Number of pages
- 116
- Identifiers
- 99900525071201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis