This study was conducted during 2019/2020 on sweet cherry trees (
Prunus Avium L.) (Bing and Hardy Giant) cultivar planted at Sergaya-Al_Zabadani area of Rural
Dam
ascus, to reduce fruit drop of sweet cherry. The experiment included 4 foliar applications: T1: control, T2: GA3 (100 ppm), T3: NAA (20 ppm), T4: (100 ppm GA3 + 20 ppm NAA). Fruit set and fruit drop percentage, fruiting factor, and yield were recorded. The results showed that treatment with (100 ppm GA3 + 20 ppm NAA) recorded higher fruit set percentage (73.81% and 75.62%), and fruiting factor (48.38% and 50.04%) respectively
;
In addition to fruit yield (40.19 and 41.21 kg/tree) for both cultivars, compared to the control (9.13, 6.60 kg/tree). Therefore, it can be concluded that GA3 + NAA treatment reduced Sweet cherry fruit drop better than other treatments, where fruit drop percentage didn’t exceed (63.11% and 62.01%) in both cultivars (Bing and Hardy Giant) respectively, compared to the control (80.92% and 80.64%).
Plant growth regulators or plant hormones are organic substances that are naturally produced in high plants. They control and activate growth and physiological functions at low concentrations and far from their production site. Use of growth regulators has become an important way in agriculture, especially in fruit trees, such as spraying auxin and Gibberelline, which are widely used to reduce fruit drop and improve their quality [1].
The balance of internal hormones plays a main important role in nutrients distribution’s in plant’s organs and affects bud longevity. It has been confirmed that fruit drop is due to internal content of auxin by external application 2,4-D or NAA, where the transport of auxins by plant stays for a long time without any effect of ethylene [2], and it’s found that gibberellic acid delays ripening and aging of fruits [3].
In an experiment on 3 sweet cherries varieties (Sweet Heart, Sunburst, Lapins) to improve fruitset, the trees were sprayed with a mixture of (10 mg/l GA3, 10 mg/l NAA) with a week intervals, where the first spray was at the end of flowering, The results showed that fruitset percent was improved by at least 2 times compared with control [4].
Many researches and experiments indicated that repeated application of gibberellic acid (GA3) improved fruitset and reduced fruit drop of cherry trees in rainy years [5].
Application of gibberellic acid (100 ppm) on peach trees, increased the fruitset percentage (69.70%) compared to the control (58%), and production (63.23 kg/tree), compared to the control (52.6 kg/tree) [6].
Tuan & Chung-Ruey [7] confirmed that foliar spray of apple trees (wax apple) with GA3 (30 ppm) at the young bud and petal fall stages caused a significant increase in the fruitset percentage, this may be due to the increase in the availability of nutrients from the leaves by gibberellic, similar results were obtained on (wax apple) by Moneruzzaman et al. [8] as well as on sweet oranges [9].
The results of foliar application with a mixture of (GA3 100 mg/l + 100 mg/l NAA) on olive trees showed a higher fruitset percentage (4.78%) compared to control (2.89%) [10].
The study of sweet orange trees (Nucellar) treatment with NAA (15, 20, 25 ppm), improved that the lowest fruit drop percentages (14.19%) was recorded with 15 ppm, and the highest fruitset percentage (64.57%) were at 25 ppm [11].
Treatment of sweet orange trees (Citrus sinensis Osbeck.) Cv. Jaffa with three concentrations of NAA (20, 30, 40 ppm) showed that 20 ppm achieved the highest fruit drop reduction until harvest, the highest fruit retained percentage, the largest number of fruits/tree and the highest production/tree [12].
In an experiment on mandarin trees 10 years old, it was observed that application of NAA (10 mg/l) increased fruitset percentage (82.77%), the largest number of fruits/tree and the highest productivity [13]. As well as spray of navel orange trees with (GA3 ppm 20 + NAA ppm 25) reduced the fruit drop percentage and increased productivity (kg/tree) [2].
Sweet cherry trees planted in the study area (Sargaya) suffer from fruit drop, which affects productivity, and according to the importance of growth regulators in increasing the fruitset, reducing fruit drop and increasing productivity, this research was conducted by application Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and Gibberellic acid (GA3) to resolve this problem.
2. Materials and Methods
The search was carried out at Cherry orchard located in Sargaya, Al-Zabadani area in Rural Damascus, at about 1500 meters altitude from sea level on sweet cherry trees (Prunus avium L.), Bing and Hardy Giant, 20 years old, grafted on Prunus mahaleb. The treatment included: (T1: Control “sprayed with water only”, T2: GA3 at 100 ppm, T3: NAA at 20 ppm, T4: (100 ppm GA3 + 20 ppm NAA), teen 20 was added 1 ml/l growth regulator solution. At white balloon and after fruitset stages for NAA application, and after fruitset for GA3 application. The experiment was designed by the complete randomized method, with 4 treatments repeated 3 times and 1 tree was used for each treatment. 4 similar flowering branches on each tree were selected, and the number of flowers on each tagged branch for a particular treatment counted. All treatments were performed with a manual hand sprayer to the drip-point. The results were analyzed statistically and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed using the statistical program Genstat-12. The lowest significant difference LSD was calculated at the level of 5% coefficients to compare the mean and find out the significant differences, after angular conversion of percentages. The studied parameters were:
· Mean of (total flowers/branch, fruitsets/branch, fruits drop/branch, and ripe fruits/branch)
· Fruitset percentage:
F S = F S n T F n × 100
FS: Fruitset percentage (%),
FSn: fruitset number,
TFn: Total flowers number.
· Fruit drop percentage:
F D = F D n F S n × 100
FD: Fruit drop percentage (%),
FDn: fruit drop number,
FSn: fruitset number.
· Fruiting factor:
F F = F n T F n × 100
FF: Fruiting factor (%),
Fn: Fruit number at harvest time,
TFn: Total flowers number.
· Fruit weight Mean: A random sample (150 fruits) was taken from the two studied varieties, with 50 fruits of each replicate, and weighed.
· Tree production (kg): Fruit trees weight was performed and mean fruit production was calculated for each treatment.
3. Results and Discussion3.1. Effect of GA<sub>3</sub> and NAA on Fruitset Percentage
The results showed that fruitset percentage was increased with NAA treatment (76.43%) compared to control (72.76%) for the Bing variety. While it was (72.85%) with GA3 without significant differences with control. For Hardy Giant variety fruitset was increased as well with GA3 + NAA application (73.81%) compared to the other studied treatments, with no significant differences between control (71.59%) and GA3 treatment (71.66%), Table 1.
These results are in agreement with the results of Stopar [4] who recommended the foliar spray with a mixture of (GA3 10 mg/l + NAA 10 mg/l) as a technical application to increase fruitset percentage for all sweet cherry varieties.
These results agreed with Bubán [14] who indicated that using growth regulators in order to improve the final fruitset percentage in cherry trees is considered ineffective compared to other types of fruit trees such as pears, despite the presence of many previous studies confirming the possibility of using some growth regulators to obtain good fruitset percentage in the cherry trees too.
Effect of spraying GA<sub>3</sub>, NAA on fruitset percentage
Fruitset percentage % after angular conversion
Fruitset percentage %
Mean of fruitset/branch
Mean of total flowers/branch
Bing
72.76b
83.20
63.75
76.75
T1: Control
72.85b
83.33
80.67
96.91
T2: GA3
76.43a
89.29
91.00
101.91
T3: NAA
75.62a
88.03
83.50
94.66
T4: GA3 + NAA
1.555
-
-
-
LSD 5%
Hardy Giant
71.59c
81.05
95.16
117.41
T1: Control
71.66c
81.18
66.50
81.91
T2: GA3
72.79b
83.26
64.91
78.00
T3: NAA
73.81a
85.05
101.41
119.25
T4: GA3 + NAA
0.866
-
-
-
LSD 5%
*Values that have the same letters within the same column have no significant difference between them at LSD 5%.
3.2. Effect of GA<sub>3</sub> and NAA on the Percentage of Fruit Drop and Fruiting Factor
The results showed the (GA3 + NAA and GA3) treatments decreased fruit drop percentage in Bing (62.01% and 77.68%) respectively, compared to the control (80.64%). In Hardy Giant, application of GA3 + NAA, decreased as well fruit drop percentage (63.11%) with no significant differences with NAA (63.47%), table (2). The results showed as well that no significant differences between control (80.92%) and GA3 treatment (80.13%), Table 2.
Many researches have succeeded in reducing fruit drop and increasing many varieties of sweet cherries production by foliar application with a mixture of GA3 + NAA after a short period of flowering [15] [16]. Plant growth regulators (PGR’s) are known to have a great influence on dropping and maintain fruits on trees. An imbalance of auxins, cytokinins, and gibberellins may lead to the formation of a separation layer at the point of contact with branch, causing fruit drop [17]. Fruit drop reduction due to the application of growth regulators can be attributed to the compensation for endogenous auxin deficiency prevents the formation of a separation layer by inhibiting enzymatic activity by pectinase and polygalacturonase [18] [19] [20].
Table 2 showed as well that fruiting factor significantly increased with GA3 + NAA application in both cultivars (Bing and Hardy Giant) (48.38%, 50.04%), with no significant difference with NAA (47.68% and 47.05%), compared to the
Effect of spraying GA<sub>3</sub>, NAA on the drop percentage and fruiting factor
Fruiting factor % % after angular conversion
Fruiting factor %
Fruit drop percentage % after angular conversion
Fruit drop percentage %
Mean of Ripe fruits/branch
Mean of Fruits drop/branch
Bing
27.04c
4.53
80.64d
78.67
3.25
60.50
T1: Control
31.45b
7.44
77.68c
75.89
7.17
73.50
T2: GA3
47.05a
28.70
65.17b
60.58
29.25
6.75
T3: NAA
50.04a
34.54
62.01a
53.49
33.25
50.25
T4: GA3 + NAA
3.969
2.727
LSD 5%
Hardy Giant
26.50c
4.03
80.92b
77.02
4.75
90.41
T1: Control
30.32b
6.50
80.13b
76.23
5.33
62.5
T2: GA3
47.68a
29.50
63.47a
53.35
23.33
41.58
T3: NAA
48.38a
31.26
63.11a
53.79
37.16
64.25
T4: GA3 + NAA
2.423
3.428
LSD 5%
*Values that have the same letters within the same column have no significant difference between them at LSD 5%.
control (26.50% and 27.04%), respectively.
Similar results were obtained in previous experiments conducted by Stopar [4] on (Sunburst, Lapins and Sweetheart) cultivars, and by Webster et al. [5] who found that remaining fruits number on Colney’s sweet cherry trees increased 2 times when sprayed with a mixture of (GA3 10 mg/l + NAA 10 mg/l). On the other hand, this treatment did not have any effect on Stella cultivar, it would be concluded that Bing cultivar behavior differed to GA3 Application than Hardy Giant, while the 2 cultivars behaved similar to NAA treatment, so varieties behavior differs to growth regulators application.
This result is in agreed with Sweety et al. [12] who attributed the higher fruiting factor in NAA (20 ppm) treatments to the reduction of fruit drop, where growth regulators treatment compensated the lack of endogenous auxin, thereby preventing the formation of the separation layer, possibly by inhibiting Enzymatic activity.
3.3. Effect of GA<sub>3</sub> and NAA on Fruit Weight and Yield
Table 3 indicated as well a significant effect of GA3 (7.447 and 8.800 g/fruit) compared to other treatments included the control for Bing and Hardy Giant, respectively.
This result showed that the increase of fruit yield is due to the enhancement of fruit weight by GA3 application, not for fruitset percentage. This is confirmed by Zhang [20] results, where GA3 (100 mg/l) application had a positive effect on fruits weight of sweet cherry Bing cultivar, while the (200 mg/l) was more effective in increasing fruits weight by 15% compared to the control.
Table 3 showed that (GA3, NAA and GA3 + NAA) application enhanced Bing fruit yield (14.78, 28.89 and 40.21 kg/tree), and Hardy Giant fruit yield (11.06, 22.69 and 40.19 kg/tree), compared to the control (Bing and Hardy Giant) (5.93 and 9.13 kg/tree) respectively.
These results agreed with Stopar [4], who observed that sweet cherry trees’ yield increased 2 times when sprayed with a mixture of (GA3 10 mg/l + NAA 10
Effect of GA<sub>3</sub> and NAA on fruit weight and yield (kg/tree)
Bing
Hardy Giant
Mean of fruit weight/g
Yield Kg/tree
Mean of fruit weight/g
Yield Kg/tree
T1: Control
6.670b
5.93d
7.770b
9.13c
T2: GA3
7.447a
14.78c
8.800a
11.06c
T3: NAA
6.320c
28.89b
7.600b
22.69b
T4: GA3 + NAA
6.667b
41.21a
7.640b
40.19a
LSD 5%
0.321
7.444
0.212
5.530
*Values that have the same letters within the same column have no significant difference between them at LSD 5%.
mg/l) compared to non-sprayed trees.
This result is in agreement with [21] [22] [23] who showed that spraying of orange trees with NAA and GA3 increased trees yield compared to non-sprayed trees.
Yield increase in the studied treatments compared to the control could be attributed to the increase in fruits remained number at harvest time. The enhancement of fruit weight may be due to the activation and increase of cell division and cell elongation by NAA and GA3 treatments [24].
Agrawal and Dikshit [25] showed that NAA treatment increased fruit weight and yield as a result of activating cell elongation, increasing vacuole size, flexibility, and cell wall elasticity. Stern et al. [26] also indicated that NAA treatment promotes cell elongation in mesocarp cells, thus increasing fruit size and yield.
4. Conclusion
It can be concluded that the application of the mixture of (20 ppm NAA + 100 ppm GA3) on cherry trees had a positive effect in reducing fruit drop percentage and increasing fruiting factor compared to the control. NAA + GA3 application was more effective than NAA alone. The efficacy of the GA3 + NAA mixture should be further investigated.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the General commission for scientific agricultural research (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.
Mr. Ahmed Sawan, this research was carried out at his cherry field at Sergaya-Al_Zabadani area.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
Cite this paper
Askarieh, A., Suleiman, S. and Tawakalna, M. (2021) Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium L.) Fruit Drop Reduction by Plant Growth Regulators (Naphthalene Acetic Acid NAA and Gibberellic Acid GA3). American Journal of Plant Sciences, 12, 1338-1346. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2021.129094
ReferencesSuman, M., Sangma, P.D., Meghawal, D.R. and Sahu, O.P. (2017) Effect of Plant Growth Regulators on Fruit crops. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 6, 331-337.Kumari, S., Bakshi, P., Sharma, A., Wali, V.K., Jasrotia, A. and Kour, S. (2018) Use of Plant Growth Regulators for Improving Fruit Production in Sub Tropical Crops. Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences, 7, 659-668.
https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.703.077Khadar, S.E.S.A., Singh, B.P. and Khan, S.A. (1988) Effect of GA3 as a Post-Harvest Treatments of Mango Fruit on Ripening, Amylase and Peroxidase Activity and Quality during Storage. Scientia Horticulturae, 36, 261-266.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4238(88)90060-XStopar, M. (2018) Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium L.) Fruit Drop Reduction by the Application of 1-Naphthaleneacetic Acid and Gibberellic acid. Acta Hortic, 1221, 71-76. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1221.11Webster, A.D., Spencer, J.E., Dover, C. and Atkinson, C.J. (2006) The Influence of Sprays of GA3 and AVG on Fruit Abscission, Fruit Ripening and Quality of Two Sweet Cherry Cultivars. Acta Horticulturae, 727, 467-472.
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2006.727.57Singh, V. and Kaur, G. (2018) Effect of Potassium Nitrate, GA3 and Salicylic Acid on Fruit Yield and Quality of Peach [Prunus persica (L) Batsch] cv. Shan-i-Punjab. International Journal of Current Research and Academic Review, 6, 20-26.Tuan, N.M. and Chung-Ruey, Y. (2013) Effect of Gibberellic Acid and 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid on Fruit Development and Fruit Quality of Wax Apple. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Biological, Biomolecular, Agricultural, Food and Biotechnological Engineering, 7, 299-305.Moneruzzaman, K.M., Hossain, A.B.M.S., Normaniza, O. and Boyce, A.N. (2011) Growth, Yield and Quality Responses to Gibberellic Acid (GA3) of Wax apple Syzygium Samarangense var. Jambu Air Madu Fruits Grown under Field Conditions. African Journal of Biotechnology, 10, 11911-11918.Fahad, S. and Rab, A. (2014) Association of Gibberellic Acid (GA3) with Fruit Set and Fruit Drop of Sweet Orange. Journal of Biology, Agricultural and Healthcare, 4, 54-59.Nafea, S.M. and Abdulfatah, H.K. (2015) Effect of Foliar Application of GA3 and NAA for Reducing Alternate Bearing of OliveTrees (Olea europaea L. cv. Ashrasie). Zanco Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences, 27, 1-6.Somwanshi, B.S., Patil, M.B., Nainwad, RV. and Shinde, S.E. (2017) Effect of Different Chemicals on Pre-Harvest Fruit Drop and Fruit Set of Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis osbeck.) var. Nucellar. International Journal of Chemical Studies, 5, 168-171.Rana, S.G.S. and Chandramohan Reddy, G. (2018) Impact of Growth Regulators on Fruit Drop and Yield Parameters of Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis Osbeck) cv. Jaffa. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 7, 3417-3419.Nawaz, M.A., Afzal, M., Ahmed, W., Ashraf, M., Jaime, A., Teixeira, D.S., Akhtar, N., Shahzad, S.M., Ullah, H. and Hussain, Z. (2011) Exogenous Application of 2,d-D, Ga3 and NAA at Flowering Improves Yield and Quality of Kinnow Mandarin (Citrus Reticulate Blanco). The Asian and Australasian Journal of Plant Science and Biotechnology, 5, 17-21.Bubán, T. (1996) Using Plant Growth Regulators to Increase Fruit Set in Sour Cherry Trees. Acta Horticulturae, 410, 307-310.
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1996.410.47Modlibowska, I. and Wickenden, M.F. (1982) Effects of Chemical Growth Regulators on Fruit Production of Cherries. I. Effects of Fruit Setting Hormone Sprays on the Cropping of cvs Merton Glory and Van Cherry Trees. Journal of Horticultural Science, 57, 413-422. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221589.1982.11515072Goldwin, G.K. and Webster, A.D. (1983) The Cumulative Effects of Hormone Mixtures Containing GA3, DPU plus NOXA, NAA or 2,4,5-TP on the Cropping and Flowering of Sweet Cherry Cultivars, Prunus avium L. Journal of Horticultural Science, 58, 505-516. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221589.1983.11515149Chen, H., Dekkers, K.L., Cao, L., Burns, J.K., Timmer, L.W. and Chung, K. (2006) Evaluation of Growth Regulator Inhibitors for Controlling Postbloom Fruit Drop (PFD) of Citrus Induced by Fungi Colletotrichum acutatum. Growth Regulator Inhibitors for Controlling Postbloom, 41, 1317-1321.
https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.41.5.1317Dhaliwal, H.S., Rattanpal, H.S., Anita, and Arora, N. (2009) Integrated Control of Fruit Drop in Kinnow Mandarin. Journal of Research, Punjab Agriculture University, 46, 163-265.Sharma, M.K., Chaudhary, H D., Jain, M.C. and Bhatnagar, P. (2013) Effect of Plant Growth Regulators on Growth and Yield of Nagpur Mandarin (Citrus Reticulata Blanco.). The Asian Journal of Horticulture, 8, 746-750.Gurjar, P.S. and Rana, G.S. (2014) Influence of Foliar Application of Nutrients and Growth Regulator on Fruit Drop, yield and Fruit Size and Quality in Kinnow Mandarin. Indian Journal of Horticulture, 71, 109-111.Hanafy, A.A., Khalil, M.K., Abd Ei-Rahman, A.M. and Hamed, N.A.M. (2012) Effect of Zinc, Tryptophan and Indole Acetic Acid on Growth, Yield and Chemical Composition of Valencia Orange Trees. Journal of Applied Sciences Research, 8, 901-914.Hikal, A.R.F., Ibrahim, M.A. and Abdelaziz, R.A. (2017) Effect of Different Treatments of Calcium and Boron on Productivity and Fruit Quality of Navel Orange Fruits. Egyptian Journal of Horticulture, 44, 119-126.Mona, E.M., Helal, N.E., Merwad, A.M.M. and Mansour, A.E.M. (2019) Effect of Some Growth Regulators and Boron on Fruiting and Quality of Orange. Middle East Journal of Agriculture Research, 8, 594-599.Ranjan, R., Purohit, S.S. and Prasad, V. (2003) Plant Hormones: Action and Application. Agrobios, Rajasthan, 183-189.Agrawal, S. and Dikshit, S.N. (2008) Studies on the Effect of Plant Growth Regulators on Growth and Yield of Sapota (Achras sapota L.) cv. Cricket Ball. Indian Journal of Agricultural Research, 42, 207-211.Stern, R.A., Flaishman, M. and Ben-Arie, R. (2007) Effect of Synthetic Auxins on Fruit Size of Five Cultivars of Japanese Plum (Prunus saliciana Lindl.). Scientia Horticulturae, 112, 304-309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2006.12.032