Scoring and Girdling, but not GA3, Increase Yield without Decreasing Return Bloom in ‘Triumph’ Persimmon

Abstract

The persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) cultivar Triumph is prone to poor fruit set, particularly in young orchards, in both Israel and South Africa where it is mostly grown. Two applications of 20 mg·L−1 gibberellic acid (GA3) at 30% and 70% full bloom (FB) are recommended as the industry norm to increase fruit set, but results obtained are often unsatisfactory. We conducted experiments during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons in a young orchard (less than 5 years old) and a full-bearing orchard to determine the efficacy of GA3 application and scoring or girdling during FB to increase fruit set and yield in ‘Triumph’ persimmon. We also established the effect of 2005–06 treatments on return bloom in 2006–07. Although GA3 treatments were ineffective in increasing fruit set and reduced cumulative yield over the two seasons as a result of a reduction in return bloom, scoring increased the cumulative yield by 50% compared with the untreated control and by 92% compared with GA3 application in the young orchard. In the full-bearing orchard, scoring or girdling increased the cumulative yield over the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons by 52% compared with the industry standard GA3 application and by 22% compared with trees that received scoring/girdling in addition to GA3. Hence, scoring or girdling did not entirely offset the negative effect of GA3 application on return bloom. The increase in fruit numbers in response to fruit set treatment brought about a reduction in fruit mass. In conclusion, the ineffectiveness of GA3 in increasing fruit set and its negative effect on return bloom do not justify its further use to improve fruit set in young or full-bearing ‘Triumph’ orchards in South Africa. Either scoring or girdling can be used to increase yield but will need to be accompanied by pruning and thinning strategies to achieve adequate fruit size and to prevent the onset of alternate bearing resulting from overcropping.