Partial ringing and liquid nitrogen effects on shoot growth and fruit quality of peach

Abstract: Effect of partial ringing and liquid nitrogen application on the growth and fruit quality of peach was studied. Twelve five-year-old peach trees (Prunus persica [L.] Batsch.), cv. 'Hikawa Hakuho' grafted on wild peach rootstock were randomly selected for this experiment in April 2004. A 4 cm wide partial ring of bark was removed from eight of them at a height of 25 cm above the graft union leaving a 5 mm connecting strip. Four of the ringed trees were treated with liquid nitrogen at the ringed portions while the rest were intact trees as controls. Both partial ringing and partial ringing plus liquid nitrogen treatment led to reduced shoot length, fruit acidity, total shoot length and weight of pruned branches but increased soluble solids content. Liquid nitrogen had little additive effect on partial ringing in terms of these parameters. Both treatments had a similar effect on tree and fruit characteristics as evidenced by similar bark width recovery and fruit diameter. The use of partial ringing plus liquid nitrogen application in commercial peach orchards promises to be slightly more efficient in causing shoot length reduction while improving fruit quality.