Boron Effects on Fruit Set, Yield, Quality and Paternity of Macadamia
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Kämper, Wiebke
Wallace, Helen M
Ogbourne, Steven M
Hosseini Bai, Shahla
Nichols, Joel
Trueman, Stephen J
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Abstract
Many tree crops experience sub-optimal yields and low fruit quality due to inadequate pollination, low fruit set, and poor crop nutrition. Boron (B) is a critical crop nutrient for fruit set because B levels affect pollen germination and pollen tube growth. However, the relationship between floral B concentration and fruit set is not well understood. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of B applications on the initial fruit set, yield, quality, and paternity of macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia). Cultivar ‘816’ trees received one of three treatments: (a) 0 g, (b) 15 g, or (c) 30 g B per tree prior to flowering. Boron application increased the B concentration of macadamia flowers. Application of 15 g B increased fruit set at 3 weeks after peak anthesis, but this higher initial fruit set was not translated into higher fruit set at 6 or 10 weeks after peak anthesis or higher yield. Boron application increased B concentrations in kernels but did not affect nut-in-shell (NIS) mass, kernel mass, kernel recovery, kernel oil concentration or incidence of whole kernels. Cultivar ‘816’ was highly outcrossing, with 97–98% cross-paternity among kernels from all treatments. Our results indicate that higher B concentration in macadamia flowers can be associated with an increased initial fruit set. However, high B levels did not affect yield, nut quality, or the proportion of self-pollinated fruit at maturity. The heavy dependence on outcrossing highlights the importance of inter-planting different cultivars and managing bee hives to sustain the productivity of macadamia orchards.
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Agronomy
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12
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3
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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Horticultural production
Agriculture, land and farm management
Crop and pasture production
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De Silva, AL; Kämper, W; Wallace, HM; Ogbourne, SM; Hosseini Bai, S; Nichols, J; Trueman, SJ, Boron Effects on Fruit Set, Yield, Quality and Paternity of Macadamia, Agronomy, 12 (3), pp. 684-684