In the 2019 campaign, the Fruit Crop Nutrition (NCF) group of the Aula Dei Experimental Station (EEAD-CSIC) carried out a trial on Primigian cherries for the company CULTIFORT, located in La Almunia de Doña Godina (Zaragoza).
The trial consisted of applying two foliar treatments with FASKOLOR , at a dose of 300 cc/Hl, 21 and 15 days before harvest respectively, with the aim of advancing and homogenizing the ripening of early harvest cherries, whose main problem is the great heterogeneity in ripening, sometimes requiring 3 or 4 passes until total harvest.
The FASKOLOR treatment was harvested on May 27, 2019, coinciding with the time when the farmer made the first pass on the rest of the untreated trees, in order to evaluate whether, on this harvest date, the production of ripe fruit from the trees treated with FASKOLOR was greater than that of the trees in the CONTROL group.
To carry out all quality determinations during harvest, all production was collected from the central tree of each experimental unit:
- From a sample of 50 fruits, the physical-chemical, destructive and non-destructive parameters were determined during harvesting.
- The remainder of the harvested production was classified by degrees of maturity (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Visual appearance of the different degrees of maturity analyzed.
In the quality parameters analyzed, significant differences were found demonstrating a positive effect of the FASKOLOR treatment on fruit maturity . These parameters were as follows:
- Fruit firmnessGreater firmness of the fruits of the control group, indicative of a more delayed state of ripeness.
- Cross gaugeThe largest fruits were those treated with FASKOLOR.
- Soluble solids. A higher concentration was found in the fruits treated with FASKOLOR.
- Acidity (malic acid). Higher concentration of malic acid in the fruits that had received the treatment of FASKOLOR.
The weight of 120 fruits was collected from each treatment and block. The fruits treated with FASKOLOR had a higher average weight than the samples in the CONTROL group (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Weight (g) of 120 fruits at harvest.
Slight differences were observed in the color coordinates, with particularly darker tones in the fruits treated with FASKOLOR . It is worth highlighting the increase in absorbance value at 520 nm (an index of anthocyanin content ) in the fruits that had received the FASKOLOR treatment.
Regarding production according to the degree of maturity, the fruits treated with FASKOLOR showed a higher percentage of mature fruits than the CONTROLS and, on the contrary, a lower percentage of immature fruits in maturity degrees I and II (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Production percentages at the different stages of maturity evaluated.
