Alternative rest-breaking agents to DNOC/oil for apples

Abstract

Rest-breaking agents less toxic than the commercially-used DNOC/winter-oil and less expensive than hydrogen cyana- mide were tested on Golden Delicious in a high density planting in a region of warm winters. Some combinations of mineral oil and cyanamide were as effective in promoting budbreak as both DNOC/oil and cyanamide but neither treatment improved fruit set or fruit size 12 weeks after treatment, relative to the control. Rest-breaking treatments are seen as one aspect of tree manipulation rather than a direct means of increasing production.