POMEWEST
Predicting lenticel damage
in Kanzi apples ®
T
Treatment methods 1 Hot water An Esky was filled with hot water (49°C). The apples were submerged in the hot water and held under water for 30 minutes.
BY SUSIE MURPHY WHITE PROJECT MANAGER, POMEWEST
esting methods highlighted the potential for lenticel damage in Kanzi® apples in the 2020 season. In the 2019 season Manjimup Kanzi® apple growers reported a high percentage of lenticel damage to Kanzi® apples that had come out of cool store. As the apples passed over the pre-sizer in mid-April 2019 the lenticel damage was high averaging about 7 per cent then spiking up to 50 per cent of the apples showing damage later in the season. Lenticel breakdown symptoms are expressed after post-harvest handling, but damage is initiated pre-harvest
when fruit are growing rapidly and the damage can be linked to low fruit calcium status. The damage can be mitigated by managing nutritional imbalances, crop load and excessive tree vigour.
Furthermore, moisture stress and excessive irrigation can also raise the incidence of lenticel damage.
2 Ethephon A plastic box was filled with 8L of water (24ºC) and 15ml of Ethephon was mixed into the water. Every apple was dipped (2 sec) in the prepared solution.
An observation trial was set up in March 2020 to investigate if lenticel damage can be predicted before harvest, therefore influencing which fruit is suitable for cool storage and which fruit is sold first. These treatments had been successfully used by Washington State University on Honeycrisp in 2017.
A trial was set up during March to investigate if lenticel damage can be predicted.
3 LENTICEL damage in Kanzi® apples in 2019
3 Passive Fruit were placed on trays and kept at room temperature (±22°C).
2 Control The apples from cool store. WA Grower SPRING 2020
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