International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), Acta Horticulturae, 884, p. 643-646
DOI: 10.17660/actahortic.2010.884.85
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When the chilling is not sufficient to provide the natural bud break of apple trees, it is necessary to use chemical products to induce bud break and overcoming the endodormancy of these plants. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effect of different chemical products on bud break in three apple (Malus domestica Borkh) cultivars and two distinct regions of Santa Catarina State. The cultivars used were ‘Gala Standard’ (requires 700 chilling hours), ‘Fuji Suprema’ (requires 700-750 chilling hours) and ‘Condessa’ (requires 350-400 chilling hours). They were exposed to climatic conditions that might be encountered in the cities of Chapecó (27°05’S, 52°37’W), altitude of 675 m and São Joaquim (28°17’S, 49°56’W), altitude of 1350 m. The experimental design was a randomized block design. The products used in the treatments were Dormex® 1% (Hydrogen Cyanamide H2CN2) plus mineral oil 3%, Acordex® 1.5% (Zn – 8%, S – 3.8%, Mo – 0.15%, Co – 0.15%) plus Kymon Plus 0.2% (N – 9%, K – 3%, aminoacids) plus mineral oil 3%, Erger® 4%(inorganic hydrogen compound) plus calcium nitrate 5%, and the control was treated only with water. ‘Condessa’ showed uniform bud break in all the treatments, thus the use of chemical products to induce bud break is not necessary for São Joaquim. The behavior of ‘Gala Standard’ and ‘Fuji Suprema’ were different, since both cultivars need chemical treatment to increase bud break. The cuttings treated with Dormex® plus mineral oil showed homogeneity on appearance of flowers in both situations.