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These small doses of spring-like temperatures are causing spring fever for humans and plants alike.
Buds on apple and peach trees will soon start to swell. Before too long, growers will have to start thinking about thinning their orchards. Valent has launched a brand new growth regulator called Accede, which will help chemically thin apples and peaches.
“It contains an active ingredient called ACC, which is a naturally-occurring amino acid,” says Kevin Forney, PGR product development manager for Valent. “It uses the plant’s natural biochemical pathways to produce ethylene in the plant. Ethylene is a hormone that’s involved in a number of plant processes including fruit abscission and flower abscission.”
Forney says that Accede is an effective thinner, and is the only EPA-approved chemical thinner for peaches.
“For peaches, the application is applied at bloom and [is] our recommendation,” says Forney. “The label allows anything from pink bud up to petal fall. For apples, the label is a broad label in terms of its application window, but we found it’s highly effective when used as a late postpone thinner in apples—targeting that 15 to 20 mm fruit.”
Valent has a full federal registration and state registration for Michigan this year. However, Forney says the Accede launch is limited.
“I would recommend that anybody who’s interested in wanting to talk to their local Valent representative and find out about our Grower Experience Program, which allows growers to look at Accede in large-scale trials of their own.”
For more information, visit valent.com.