Yield responses to ethephon for unshaken and mechanically shaken macadamiaView Altmetrics View AltmetricsTools Trueman, S.J. (2003) Yield responses to ethephon for unshaken and mechanically shaken macadamia. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 43 (9). pp. 1143-1150. ISSN 0816-1089
Article Link: https://doi.org/10.1071/EA02048 AbstractEthephon promotes fruit abscission and accelerates harvest of macadamia, Macadamia integrifolia (Proteaceae), but has limited use due to concerns that associated abscission of inner-canopy leaves may reduce subsequent yield and nut quality. Yield and quality were monitored for 2 years following ethephon application to both unshaken and mechanically shaken trees of the late-abscising cultivar, A16. Nut quality was not adversely affected in subsequent seasons, but effects on yield varied. In 3 of 6 experiments, ethephon reduced yield in the year after application. However, in 4 of the 6 experiments, 2 years of ethephon application greatly elevated yield in the third year. This was not a compensating recovery from low second-year yield, as third-year yield of trees that received only 1 ethephon treatment did not differ from yield of control trees. Ethephon-assisted harvest remains feasible for macadamia, although further work is warranted given the potential risks and considerable benefits for subsequent yield. Inner canopy defoliation, resulting from ethephon use, could represent a canopy management technique for dense-canopy fruit trees.
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