Efficiency of modern growth regulators for producing branched one-year apple tree seedlings

The article presents the results of field studies aimed at producing branched one-year apple tree seedlings in a nursery. The aim of the study was to identify the optimal application of plant growth regulators and fertilizers in the nursery for producing one-year apple tree seedlings. The studies were conducted in 2024 and 2025 at the research and production nursery of the Federal Horticultural Research Center for Breeding, Agrotechnology and Nursery in the Stupinsky District, Moscow Region. The objects of the study were one-year apple plants of the varieties Desertnoe Kichiny, Chekhovskoe, and Lobo, grafted onto the clonal rootstock 54–118. The plants were obtained by summer chip-budding. For chemical treatments, the growth regulators Gibbera, WP (25 mg/L), Saldo, WP (25 mg/L), and Epplin, WSP (0.6 g/L) were used. To improve mineral nutrition, in some variants foliar application of the complex fertilizer Aquarin 5 Plus (5 g/L) was applied. The first treatment of buds was carried out at the end of June when plants reached a height of 60 cm, followed by applications every 10 days. The frequency of application ranged from 1 to 3 times depending on the variant. A three-fold treatment with Epplin Epplin was taken as a reference option. The control received no growth regulator treatment. Increased apple tree height was achieved by increasing the number of treatments with growth regulators and the fertilizer Aquarin 5 Plus. The maximum plant height and trunk diameter were recorded in the variant with three-time application of growth regulators and fertilizer. The greatest positive effect in increasing the number of branches and their length (9.5-fold compared to the control) in all studied varieties was obtained in the variant with three-time application of Gibbera and Saldo. Simultaneous foliar application of Aquarin 5 Plus fertilizer contributed to an increase in average shoot length by 1.3-fold across the studied varieties. The variety Lobo was characterized by a high ability to form additional shoots, the variety Dessertnoye Kichiny by a moderate ability, and the variety Chekhovskoe by a low ability to form shoots. The yield of branched one-year plants under the influence of growth regulators was 100% for the varieties Lobo and Dessertnoe Kichiny, and 77.8% for the variety Chekhovskoe.

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