Effects of NAA and GA3 Sprays on Fruit Size and the Incidence of Creasing of ‘Washington’ Navel Orange
‘Washington’ navel orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osb.] orchards in Israel suffer from creasing – a physiological disorder of the fruit, leaving the fruit unsuitable for the fresh fruit market. Many ‘Washington’ navel orchards tend to bear small size fruit with low market value. This paper presents two experiments, in which the effects of naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA, 300 mg·L-1) on yield, fruit size, fruit quality and the incidence of creasing of ‘Washington’ navel orange were examined. The NAA effects were compared to those of gibberellic acid (GA3, 20 mg·L-1) – the common treatment for creasing reduction. In the first experiment, 36% of the fruit of the control trees suffered from severe creasing. The NAA sprays in May (at 18-mm fruitlet diameter) and in June (at 30-mm fruitlet diameter) reduced the incidence of creasing to 9 and 6% respectively, while the GA3 spray at August reduced the incidence of creasing to 17% of the fruit.