Prohexadione calcium as a tool to reduce winter pruning in peach tree cultivar Eragil

Abstract

This work evaluated the efficiency and feasibility of applying calcium prohexadione (PCA) at different times to control the vegetative growth and qualitative aspects of the peach tree cultivar Eragil. The experiment was carried out in the 2021/2022 season in a commercial orchard in the municipality of Ipê, RS. Treatments consisted of applications of PCA at a fixed dose of 20 mL·100 L^-1 at different stages of development, as shown: T1 – control (no application); T2 – application in petal fall; T3 – application at petal fall + application 30 DAA (days after the first application); T4 – application after green pruning; T5 – application after green pruning + application 30 DAA; T6 – application at petal fall + application 30 DAA + application 60 DAA. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with six treatments and four replications. Each plot consisted of four plants; the two central plants were considered useful. Effective fruiting increased in T3. In the evaluations of the number of pruned branches, length of branches, and weight of branches per plant, all results were smaller in T2. In the assessments of number of buds, internode length, and pruning time per hectare, there was also a significant difference, and in the number of buds, T6 had the smallest number. The internode length was the greatest in T3, and the shortest pruning time stood out in T4. Calcium prohexadione effectively controlled the vegetative growth of Eragil peach and can be directed to large areas of the peach crop when labor for pruning is scarce.