Effect of Calcium Prohexadione and Naphtalene Acetic Acid Sprays on Postharvest Quality of 'Castlebright' Apricots (Prunus armeniaca L.)

Generally, the orchard productivity is function of the vegetative-reproductive equilibrium of the trees. If this does not occur, excess of vegetative growth would reduce light penetration in the canopy, decreasing blooming, fruit set and fruit quality, and increasing fruit physiological disorders incidence. Pre-harvest application of Calcium prohexadione (Regalis (R)); Regalis (R) plus naphthalene acetic acid (NAA-800 (R)); NAA-800 (R) in a 'Castlebright' apricot orchard was evaluated. The objective of the study was to evaluate the quality of the fruit and its cold storage potential. The fruit was evaluated instrumentally and sensorially after 20 and 40 days of cold storage. In the treatment where Regalis (R) and NAA-800 (R) were sprayed singly, an increase of fruit size in comparison to the other treatments was observed. It was verified that fruits coming from trees treated with growth regulators kept their sensory quality unchanged during cold storage in comparison with the control.