The ripening and storage quality of nectarine fruits in response to preharvest application of gibberellic acid

Gibberellic acid (GA(3)) was applied in the orchard both to delay ripening and to prolong the potential storage life of 'Flamekist' nectarines. Treatments were applied at various times during and after pit hardening at doses ranging from 33 to 100 mg l(-1) a.i. Effective treatments delayed fruit ripening on the tree, measured by the retardation of the change in fruit ground colour and the development of blush. The rates of fruit softening and loss of acidity were also retarded, but the Soluble solids content (SSC) was not affected. Three applications of GA(3) during fruit development or one application at the termination of pit hardening increased the percentage of fruits with no storage disorders following five or six weeks' controlled atmosphere storage. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the ability of GA(3) to prevent physiological storage disorders in stone fruits.