Login

Proceedings

Find matching any: Reset
Add filter to result:
A Precision Pollination System for Improving Sweet Cherry Yield
X. Zhang, C. M. Dykes, M. Karkee, Q. Zhang, M. D. Whiting
Washington State University

Due to increasingly uncertain climate during bloom and colony collapse disorder affecting pollinator availability, there is interest among growers of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) to seek alternatives to the traditional pollinizer-pollinator model for fruit set. Fruit set in sweet cherry is highly variable and unpredictable among different cultivars and years. In this study, to improve the yield security, a precision pollination system (PPS) was proposed and tested in a commercial ‘Early Robin’ sweet cherry orchard in Washington State. The PPS consists of three elements including 1) pure sweet cherry pollens, 2) a suspension media for maintaining pollen viability, and 3) a commercial electrostatic sprayer. Fruit set and fruit quality were evaluated for seven treatments: 37 (T37), 74 (T74), 148 (T148), or 296 (T296) grams of pollen ha-1 suspended in a proprietary liquid media, suspension media alone (TSM), dry pollen dusted at 37 grams ha-1 (TDP), and untreated control (TUC). All treatments were applied via electrostatic sprayer at a volume of ca. 90 L ha-1. Results of field trials showed that the fruit set of ‘Early Robin’ sweet cherry was increased by ca. 10% with treatment T148 (30.1%) compared to TUC (20.7%), with the statistical confidence level of 81.1%. However, the highest pollen rate (T296) did not improve fruit set. Differences between T148 and T296 may be attributed to natural stage of flowering at the time of application. More flowers were open on limbs treated with T148 (66.7% of flowers @ 50% – 100% of flowering level), compared to T296 (58.3% @ 50% – 100%). For the same reason in TSM and TDP, relatively higher fruit sets of 24.5% and 27.5% were achieved, and relatively lower numbers of 19.0% and 23.8% were in T74 and T37, respectively, with no statistical differences found. We observed no treatment effects on fruit quality among all treatments. Overall, the lack of fruit set improvement in this research is likely related to the extraordinarily high flowering level in untreated trees, an indication that pollen was not the only limit to fruit set in this orchard.

Keyword: Pollen liquid suspension, pollen rate, fruit set, flowering level, electrostatic sprayer
X. Zhang    C. M. Dykes    M. Karkee    Q. Zhang    M. D. Whiting    Precision Horticulture    Oral    2018