Co-Authors:
Ben-Arie, R., Fruit Storage Research Laboratory, 10200 Kiryat Shmona, Israel
Zilkah, S., Institute of Plant Sciences, ARO, Volcani Center, 50250 Bet-Dagan, Israel
Klein, I., Institute of Plant Sciences, ARO, Volcani Center, 50250 Bet-Dagan, Israel
Gamrasni, D., Fruit Storage Research Laboratory, 10200 Kiryat Shmona, Israel
Abstract:
Persimmon fruit is prone to various deformations and blemishes that develop in the orchard and affect the quality and appearance of the fruit at harvest. Environmental factors that probably affect their development are climate- and/or soil-related, but very little is actually understood about their formation. Climatic effects cannot be easily dealt with, but the effects of soil-related factors, such as irrigation and nutrient supply, which are much less obvious, have received almost no attention with regard to persimmon cultivation, in spite of their well-known effects for many other fruit crops. The occurrence of two fruit disorders in 'Triumph' orchards in Israel that incur economic losses has prompted the investigation of the effects of irrigation and nutrition on persimmon fruit quality in general, with specific emphasis on disorder development. One disorder is the development of fruit deformation, which is already apparent in the fruit bud. The second is an early softening of the blossom-end, accompanied by a premature softening of this region of the fruit, which we have termed 'soft blossom end' (SBE). This presentation will describe how in our attempts to understand the effects of irrigation and nutrition on the development of SBE, such factors might affect general fruit quality.