Effects of wound treatments to flower organs on fruit set, development, and quality in sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.)

Abstract

Flower organs are important elements for pollination and fruit production. Although several studies on fruit trees have shown that damage to certain flower organs affects the resultant fruit, the influences of damage to flower organs on fruit production are largely unknown for most fruit trees. Sweet cherry is one of the most commercially important fruit trees, the tender flowers of which are occasionally damaged by factors such as insects, diseases, and weather disasters. In this study, the flower organs of two different Japanese sweet cherry cultivars, ‘Satohnishiki’ and ‘Benishuho,’ were wounded at flowering time by petal removal, stamen removal, sepal removal, or peduncle wounding, and the effects on fruit set, development, and quality at harvest were examined. All wound types slightly increased the fruit drop in ‘Satohnishiki,’ whereas fruit drop in ‘Benishuho’ was promoted by petal removal and peduncle wounding, and was suppressed by sepal removal. The fruits resulting from the wounded flowers developed in a similar manner to those of control flowers in both cultivars. Fruit weight, total soluble solid concentration, and titratable acidity of the flesh juice were not affected. On the other hand, the anthocyanin concentration in fruit skins was differentially affected depending on the cultivar, increasing in ‘Satohnishiki’ fruits but decreasing in ‘Benishuho’ fruits.