Use of Plant Growth Regulators for Feathering and Flower Suppression of Apple Nursery Trees

. The use of highly feathered trees can make high-density apple plantings more profitable through enhanced precocity and increased early yield. Currently, nurseries are asked to provide highly feathered trees with wide branch crotch angles. The use of plant growth regulators (PGRs) can play a key role when it comes to branch induction; however, dose and timing both need to be tested to enhance branching without compromising other tree quality attributes. Over the last 4 years, we have conducted studies of the use of MaxCel (cid:1) (6-benzyladenine) and Promalin (cid:1) (a mixture of 1.8% 6-benzyladenine and 1.8% GA 4 + 7 ) in comparison with Tiberon TM SC (cyclanilide) at several nurseries in NY, WA, DE, Ontario (Canada), and Chile. The best results were obtained with four applications of MaxCel

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