Cost-Effective Asian Pear Thinning for Productivity and Fruit Quality Fact Sheet

Project Type: Partnership
Funds awarded in 2008: $9,997.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2010
Region: Northeast
State: New Jersey
Project Leader:
Daniel Ward
Rutgers University
Description:
To provide Asian pear growers with more sustainable, cost-effective thinning strategies, a SARE-funded team of researchers and farmers in New Jersey studied how effectively Asian pears were thinned by a synthetic plant growth regulator called benzyladenine. They found that MaxCel, one of several chemical thinners that contain benzyladenine, can reduce the cost of hand-thinning by up to 50 percent while delivering fruit yields and sizes comparable to those of untreated, hand-thinned control trees. This fact sheet provides a brief introduction to plant growth regulators and directions on how to use MaxCel as a crop thinner for Asian pears.
Type:
Fact Sheet
File:
Authors:
Daniel Ward
Winfred Cowgill
Robin Meadows
Target audiences:
Farmers/Ranchers; Educators; Researchers
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.