Fruit Set of ‘Italian’ Prune Following Fall Foliar and Spring Boron Sprays1

A pre- or postharvest foliar B application was found to increase fruit set of ‘Italian’ prune ( Prunus domestica L.). A prebloom B spray failed to increase set. Neither fall nor spring applications influenced the amount of fruit lost in the midsummer or “blue” drop. All trees involved in the experiment had adequate B by the standard index of tree nutrition, August mid-shoot leaf analysis. Incipient B deficiency did not appear to be involved. Fall foliar B increased B levels in dormant bud and spur tissues and in flower buds and flowers. A prebloom B spray increased B levels of floral tissues to a lesser degree. The highest B concentration was found in the ovary. Boron concentration in flower buds in April following a fall B spray was as much as five times the amount found in mid-shoot leaves in August. August mid-shoot leaf analysis revealed higher levels in leaves from trees treated the previous fall in only one of the 2 years. Several morphological and physiological effects of the fall B spray were observed. Among these were a slight delay in the time of bud break, a decrease in the size of flower buds and mature flowers accompanied by reduction of style and pedicel length, and a decrease in pollen germinability. B level of pistil and pollen had no effect on in vivo pollen tube growth rate.