Abstract

Biological fertilizers improve fruit quality; for instance, organomineral, or activated mixes are known to increase consumer qualities of apples. This article describes the effect of a new activated complex (non-root treatment) on the yield, chemical composition, and physiological disorders, e.g., scald and brown spot, of commercial apples after long-term storage.
The research featured the natural activated complex of the Beliy Zhemchug (White Pearl) brand. The apple trees were divided into two groups: 1 – untreated control trees; 2 – trees that underwent a non-root treatment with the activated complex (1% solution of its Antifreeze variant + 1% solution of the Drip Ca + Mg variant). The trees belonged to the Sinap Orlovskiy cultivar, which is highly susceptible to brown spot and scald, both in the orchard and during long-term storage. The apples were studied for chemical composition and consumer qualities after long-term storage in a CV114-S refrigerator at +2°C and a relative humidity of 85–90%.
The non-root treatment of apple trees with the Beliy Zhemchug activated complex had no significant effect on the content of soluble solids, total sugars, titrated acids, and ascorbic acid in ripe apples. Weather conditions affected the chemical composition 30 days before harvesting. The non-root treatment increased the yield of commercial apples by 1.62 times after long-time storage. The scald, brown spot, and moniliosis damage decreased by 1.9, 2.6, and 1.9 times, respectively.
The activated fertilizers of the Beliy Zhemchug brand proved highly efficient as additional techniques in common apple cultivation and could be recommended to improve the quality and yield of commercial fruits after long-term storage.

Keywords

Horticulture, apple trees, chemical composition, storage, physiological disorders, scald, bitter pitting

FUNDING

The research was part of state assignment from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Minobrnauki) to the Russian Research Institute for Fruit Crop Breeding (VNIISPK) , research topic: New competitive and adaptive varieties of pome fruits obtained by innovative and environmentally friendly breeding, cultivation, and processing (FGZS-2022-0008).

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