Clearly there will be continued pressure from consumers to reduce or eliminate the use of post-harvest chemical treatments for apples and other fresh produce. The number of products with label recommendations for use as post-harvest treatments has declined over the … Continue reading →

Life cycle There are two generations per annum in the UK. Larval development has five instar stages. The pest overwinters as a second or third instar larva in a silken hibernaculum in crevices in the bark etc. There is often … Continue reading →

Controlled atmosphere (CA) storage delays ripening and senescence changes in apples and preserves many important quality attributes such as firmness, acidity and soluble solids (sugar) concentration. However, one negative consequence of the use of CA storage for prolonged periods is … Continue reading →

Ethylene gas is produced by apples during the process of ripening either on the tree or during storage. Ethylene, the ‘ripening’ hormone, triggers and co-ordinates many of the ripening changes that occur in stored apples such as softening and aroma … Continue reading →

Strategies that offer the prospect of improved control of ethylene production in apples include: Conventional breeding techniques – selection of genotypes with low production rates. Biotechnology – control of expression of regulatory proteins (ACC synthase and ACC oxidase) by genetic … Continue reading →

The physiology of flower and fruitlet drop in apples The natural abscission (drop) of flowers and fruits Fruitlets were traditionally thought to drop off in response to the death of their seeds (embryos) and the cessation of the supply of … Continue reading →

Apples supplied to the market need to be free from internal or external disorders and should have limited potential to develop disorders during the period from retailing to consumption. Growers need to recognise early symptoms of disorders during the monitoring … Continue reading →

  % Starch (blue-black) Starch score (Streif chart) 100 1 78-99 2 70-77 3 58-69 4 40-57 5 28-39 6 18-27 7 8-17 8 3-7 9 0-2                               10   The Ctifl chart is particularly useful for estimating starch patterns. … Continue reading →

Enlarge Summer fruit tortrix adults Male (left) Female (right) Enlarge Summer fruit tortrix egg batch on leaf Enlarge Summer fruit tortrix larva Enlarge Small holes in fruit caused by larvae Enlarge Fruit damage Enlarge Summer fruit tortrix leaf roll The … Continue reading →

Life cycle Adults occur from October to January but are most numerous in November and December. On emergence from pupation, the spider-like female crawls up the trunk of the tree and after mating, lays 100-200 eggs singly in crevices in … Continue reading →