MaxCel. Plant Growth Regulator. Horticulture Crops Technical Manual. Innovative solutions. Business made easy.

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Susan George
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1 Plant Growth Regulator Horticulture Crops Technical Manual Innovative solutions. Business made easy.

2 Aim: To help apple growers thin their crop and increase size for maximum returns.

3 Introduction: Thinning is recognized as one of the most important components of commercial fruit production. Pome fruit growers know that too many apples on the tree results in small fruit size, poor quality and reduced crop the following year due to the alternate bearing habit of many apple varieties. Apple growers in Canada can now benefit from incorporating an innovative tool into a successful thinning program. Plant Growth Regulator is that tool. has proven itself as an effective fruit thinner in extensive university research trials and through grower experience. In addition to adjusting the apple crop load and ensuring return bloom, also enhances fruit size by stimulating cell division in the developing fruitlets. With a built in surfactant maximizes spray coverage and absorption, making it the premium thinning product on the market. Benefits of Using : Reduces hand thinning costs. Preferentially thins lateral fruits. Increases fruit size beyond the thinning effect due to enhanced cell division. Promotes cell division and fruit growth. Improves pack-out and marketable yield. Improves return bloom. Does not mark or misshape fruit. Does not stress the tree or cause stunting of the fruits, even over multiple years of use. Improves fruit quality. Provides an excellent return on investment (ROI). 3

4 Active Ingredient: is an improved, second-generation PGR containing 6-Benzyladenine (6-BA) which is a cytokinin plant growth regulator (PGR). Cytokinins are naturally occurring and stimulate cell division. has a unique, superior formulation for optimum performance. It can be used at rates that result in strong thinning and fruit sizing effects. How works: From bloom through fruit set there is an energy intensive period for plants. Bloom, leaf expansion, and shoot growth require high levels of carbohydrate energy. Photosynthesis levels are low and the demand for energy exceeds supply. It is believed that thins by altering the source-sink relationship in the plant. The weakest fruit are shed to bring the energy differential into balance and the strongest fruit (normally the king fruit) remain. thinning effect - only the strongest (king bloom) remains.

5 Application Information: can be applied to all apple varieties. Adequate spray volume is required to ensure thorough coverage of fruits and leaves without excessive runoff. Water volumes around 1,000L/hectare or 100 gpa (gallons per acre) typically provide good results (depending on region). No adjuvants are required to be tank mixed with. Use Recommendations: Apply when maximum temperatures are expected to be above 18 C for the 2 3 days following the application. Applications should be made at the beginning of a warming trend. For size enhancement begin applications at petal fall and continue at 3 10 days intervals (maximum 4 applications). Optimum timing for thinning is when fruit is between the 5 15 mm diameter fruitlet stage (maximum 2 applications). is compatible with Sevin (Carbaryl) and other pesticides. The benefits of can be observed days following the treatment. Re-entry interval (REI): 12 hours. Pre-harvest interval (PHI): 68 days. For best results, water ph should be between 5 7; do not exceed ph of 8.5. Do not exceed a total of 22.5 litres (446 grams of 6BA) per hectare per season for all uses. 5

6 Thinning Rates: The thinning and sizing effect of is rate dependent and requires that be used in a thinning program that may include blossom and hand thinning. Thinning decisions should be based on the grower s experience with a particular apple block. Use rates for should be based on a combination of past experience with fruit variety (hard to thin, easy to thin, etc.) and with desired thinning strength (aggressive, moderate, light). / ha (1,000 L/ha) / A (100 gpa) Concentration Comments 2.5 L / hectare 1 L / acre 50 ppm Use for size enhancement. Make 2 4 apps at 3 10 day intervals starting at petal fall (PF) L / hectare 1.5 L / acre 75 ppm Use for moderate thinning on varieties such as McIntosh. 5 L / hectare 2 L / acre 100 ppm Use for most thinning situations. This rate has worked well on Gala, Empire, etc L / hectare 2.5 L / acre 125 ppm Use for hard to thin varieties such as Fuji, Golden Delicious, etc L / hectare 3 4 L / acre ppm Use in orchards that have very difficult to thin cultivars or have a history of being difficult to thin. 6

7 Sunlight intensity. Interaction between temperature and sunlight intensity can affect thinner action. Cloudy weather with warm nights during the thinning window will make the crop easier to thin than if weather is sunny and cool. Apply when maximum temperatures are expected to be above 18 C for the 2 3 days following the application. If applied in high temperatures (above 27 C) excessive thinning may occur. 7

8 Additional Attributes of : As a state-of-the-art thinner and sizer attributes include: Effective over a wide application window (5-15 mm). Best option to increase fruit size among all available thinners. Does not increase incidence of pygmy fruit. Can be tank-mixed with other thinners such as carbaryl. The label supports use rates that deliver strong consistent thinning responses. Thinning and sizing responses are rate dependent. May increase fruit firmness due to the cell division effect. Will not over-thin under low natural fruit-set conditions. Does not need surfactants or other adjuvants (unlike other thinners). plant growth regulator is a proven thinner that s unique in its ability to increase size in two ways: directly through the thinning effect and also by increasing cell division. and Promalin Promalin and can be used in a thinning and sizing program on Red Delicious apples to improve fruit size, shape and packout.

9 Affects of Sizing by Cultivar: s sizing affects can vary according to cultivar Fuji Fruit Size Distribution % of Total Fruit Investigator: Scranton Ag Services Northwest, Wenatchee, WA Stemilt Site: Manson, WA Application Date: 5/11/04 Harvest Date: 10/12/ Fruit Box Sizes (150) + Sevin NAA + Sevin UTC Royal Gala/M.9 Fruit/LCSA Unthinned Hand Thinned 75ppm 100ppm 75ppm Sevin 100ppm Sevin Fruitwt (g) Investigator: Dr. John Cline University of Guelph, Simcoe, Ontario Application date: 5/30/07 (12.7 mm KFD) Water volume: 834 L/hectare (1x) Tree age: 10 yrs Sevin rate: 1.5L/1,000L LCSA= limb cross section area Crop Density Fruit wt (g) McIntosh Crop load (kg/lcsa) Fruitwt (g) Investigator: Dr. Charlie Embree Atlantic Food and Hort. Research Centre Kentville, Nova Scotia Application date: 6/24/04 Water volume: 800 L/hectare (1x) LCSA= limb cross section area Unthinned 75ppm 100ppm Crop Load 150ppm NAA Fruit wt (g) 100ppm+ Sevin 9

10 Why Size matters? Even an incremental gain in size can have a significant impact on the prices an apple can command. Going up a box size makes a huge difference. Gala Returns (2006) ct $ 0.43/lb X 42 Lbs/bu = $18.06/bu ct $ 0.36/lb X 42 lbs/bu = $15.12/bu 125 and smaller $ 0.29/lb X 42 lbs/bu = $12.18/bu Example 1: 800 bu/acre Program $10,600/ac ($760 more than NAA) NAA Program $9,840/acre Unthinned $8,486/acre Example 2: 1,000 bu/acre Program $13,250/acre ($950 more than NAA) NAA Program $12,300/acre Unthinned $ 10,608/acre 10

11 Notes:

12 Nufarm is the marketer of Valent products in Canada. To learn more about or any other Nufarm products visit our website or call our technical support line, toll-free This information is for marketing purposes only. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW THE LABEL BEFORE USING ANY NUFARM PRODUCTS. and Promalin are registered trademarks of Valent BioSciences Corporation. All other products are trademarks of their respective owners. January 2013

Growth-Regulating Chemicals

Growth-Regulating Chemicals Apply growth-regulating chemicals at a rate determined by tree row volume (TRV). Because there is inadequate information on compatibility, apply these chemicals only as a separate