Author
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Black, Brent |
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Submitted to: International Society for Horticultural Science Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 9/6/2004 Publication Date: 9/6/2004 Citation: Black, B.L. 2004. Strawberry runner suppression with prohexadione-ca. International Society for Horticultural Science Meeting. p 66 Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Balancing vegetative growth with fruiting is a primary concern in strawberry fruit production. In many situations, vegetative growth control can be accomplished by cultural methods including selection of nursery location, digging date, and duration of cold storage of the bare-root nursery plants. Where the use of these conditioned nursery plants is not an option, runnering can be excessive and may require hand removal. The gibberellin inhibitor prohexadione-Ca (commercial formulation Apogee') was tested over two seasons for suppression of autumn runnering of 'Chandler' plug plants in a cold-climate annual hill production system. Prohexadione-Ca was applied as a foliar spray at active ingredient concentrations ranging from 60 to 480 mg per liter, either as a single application or repeated at 3-week intervals. The lowest rate resulted in inadequate runner control, with some runners producing malformed daughter plants. Higher rates resulted in 57 to 93% reductions in fall runner numbers, with a concomitant increase in branch crown formation. There were no affects of the prohexadione-Ca treatments on plant morphology the following spring, and no adverse effects on fruit characteristics or yield. |
