Equilibrium® improves fruit setting in stone fruit, thus increasing their early development.
Equilibrium® is a bio-stimulant using synergic action to improve fruit development, from fruit setting to maturation. In earlier studies, we have presented yield improvements associated with an increase in fruit setting rates and quality parameters, including demonstrating improvements in various relevant Spanish crops (horticulture, olive, citrus).
Since stone fruit trees are planted at wide intervals in order to get higher caliber fruit, as well as improvements in certain quality parameters, we planned a series of trials in peach, nectarine and apricots to test if Equilibrium® might implement a quicker fruit development and, therefore, an earlier, higher value crop.
Results on peachs:
Crop | Peach |
Variant | Plagold 10 |
Location | Blanca |
Plantation plot (m) | 2.5 x 5 |
Plantation age | 8 years |
Plantation density | 800 |
Average ± SEM, test LSD (α=0.1)
Equilibrium® shows the best yield increment in the first sample (early development) whereas the standard products have worse results than the control.
Results on nectarines:
Crop | Nectarine |
Variant | Atinea |
Location | Cieza |
Plantation plot (m) | 2 x 4 |
Plantation age | 5 years |
Plantation density | 1250 |
Average ± SEM, Student-Newman-Keuls test, α=0.1
Equilibrium® achieves a yield increase of 40% in the first sample (early development).
Results on apricots:
Crop | Apricot |
Variant | Luca |
Location | Cieza |
Plantation plot (m) | 3.5 x 5 |
Plantation age | 8 years |
Plantation density | 571 |
Average ± SEM, test LSD (α=0.1)
The usage of Equilibrium®, with the aim of improving early development, proved highly effective and achieved consistent better yield in the first sample. This is of importance for the production sector, given the higher prices achieved by early fruits.