Umme-Laila

18-Arid-2374
Temperate Fruits
Hort-603
PRACTICAL NOTEBOOK

Practical # 1:

Pear:
Botany of pear tree:
The pear belongs to the genus Pyrus and sub-genus Pyrophorum of the family
Rosaceae. There are around 30 species of pear in the genus Pyrus; the most commonly
cultivated species is Pyrus communis L. The genus is characterized by white flowers
with the style free at the base. The fruit have a closed calyx tube and contain grit cells in
the flesh, clustered around the carpels and in the core. The tree of P. communis is
strong, upright, and deciduous. The leaves are mostly oblong to ovate, hard in texture,
bright-green, and serrated. The flowers are white and borne on spurs in clusters of 4-12
with leaves. Each Flower is hermaphroditic and has 5 persistent sepals, 5 petals, 5
carpels, 15-20 stamens, and an inferior ovary. The fruit is a pome which, like the apple, is
a false fruit since it develops from the torus and floral tube instead of the ovary. Pears
are universally self-incompatible and hence produce more fruit when they are cross-
pollinated.
 Varieties
Important varieties grown in Pakistan are clapp's Favourite, Hardy, Bose, Bartlett,
Cornice, LeConte, Kieffer, and Samar Kandi.

Pollination:
Pear flowers are self-incompatible and must be fertilized by pollen from a different
cultivar. Bumble bees, blue orchard bees, wild bees and possibly flies may also be
valuable for pear pollination, especially during inclement weather and in small orchards
adjacent to wild habitat.

Pruning
The differences in the growth and fruiting habits between apples and pears can be listed
as follows:
Pear trees show more transplant "shock" than apple trees. Balancing root:shoot ratio at
planting time is therefore important.
Pear trees bear their fruit closer to the main branches compared to apples. For this
reason allow around 8 main branches to form rather than the four or five of an apple
tree.
Most of the pear varieties are not as strongly basitonic as apples i.e. they tend to always
have a very strong central leader and a weak set of first side-scaffolds. In fact, the
central leader is often too strong.
Pruning of a bearing tree should accomplish the following objectives.
Vigorous wood growth should be encouraged.
Weak wood and sprouts should be removed.
Fruiting wood should be evenly distributed.
The tree center should be open to allow light penetration.
Tree height should allow convenient spraying, thinning, and harvesting.
Pruning should help to regulate bearing, size, and quality of fruit.
Interfering branches, dead wood, and diseased parts should be removed.

Pear Diseases
Scab, Seedling blight, Crown gall, White root rot, Collar rot, Powdery mildew, Leaf
spot, Canker
Insect pest:
Pests
Codling moth Cydia pomonella
Symptoms
Holes and burrows in fruit; holes may be blocked with
crumbly brown frass (insect excrement); wounds may be
shallow or may be deep burrows extending to the fruit’s
core.

Management
Proper pruning methods help to open out tree canopy to ensure treatments penetrate
interior of the tree and reach larvae; removal of any wild hosts or trees in abandoned
orchards helps remove reservoirs of insect;

Leafrollers
Symptoms
Leaves of plant rolled and tied together with silk webbing;
feeding damage to rolled leaves; defoliation of plant; silk
webbing may also be present on fruits and fruits may have
substantial scarring from feeding damage; larvae wriggle
vigorously when disturbed and may drop from plant on a
silken thread.

Management
Monitor plants regularly for signs of infestation; remove weeds from plant bases as they
can act as hosts for leafrollers.
 Practical # 2:
Apple:

Botanical Description

Apple, Malusdomestica, is a deciduous tree in the family Rosaceae which is grown for its
fruits, known as apples. Apple fruits are one of the most widely cultivated fruits in the
world, are round (pome) in shape and range in color from green to red. When planted
from a seed, an apple tree can take six to ten years to mature and produce fruit of its
own. Apple trees are small to medium sized trees reaching heights of 5–10 m (16.4–32.8
ft), with a central trunk which divides into several branches. The leaves of the tree are
oval in shape and can reach up to 13 cm (5.1 in) in length and 7 cm (2.8 in) in width.

Varieties:
Major apple varieties in Pakistan include Golden delicious, Red delicious, Kala Kulu,
Kaja, Gacha, Amri, Mushhadi, and Kashmiri.

Pollination:
Pollination is a crucial part of growing quality apples. Apples require cross-pollination
bees moving pollen from a pollen-donating tree to the receiving tree. A fully pollinated
apple will contain 10 seeds; however, a minimum of 6 to 7 seeds per apple will succeed
in good fruit development.

Common Pests and Diseases

Diseases:
Black rot Botryosphaeriaobtusa

Symptoms
Purple flecks or circular lesions which are brown in the centre and purple at margin; red
flecks, purple lesions and/or brown black rings on fruit.
Cause: Fungus
Management
Remove dead wood, mummified fruit and cankers from trees to reduce spread of
disease; burn any prunings that have been made from the tree; disease can be controlled
by applying fungicides from silver tip to harvest.
Powdery mildew Podosphaeraleucotricha
Symptoms
White velvety patches on underside of leaves; chlorotic spots on top side of the leaves
Cause: Fungus
Management
Prune out infected shoots while dormant in early spring; apply sprays at pink bud stage
to reduce build up; organic treatments include application of lime and sulfur.

Insect Pests
1. Aphids (Green apple aphid, Woolly apple aphid)
Symptoms
Small soft bodied insects on underside of leaves and/or stems of plant; usually green or
yellow in color, woolly apple aphids are covered in masses of white, wool-like material;
green apple aphids are dark green when they forst hatch and change to yellow-green
with darker green spots as they mature;
Management
If aphid population is limited to just a few leaves or shoots then the infestation can be
pruned out to provide control; check transplants for aphids before planting; use tolerant
varieties if available; reflective mulches such as silver colored plastic can deter aphids
from feeding on plants; sturdy plants can be sprayed with a strong jet of water to knock
aphids from leaves; insecticides are generally only required to treat aphids if the
infestation is very high.
2. Apple maggot Rhagoletispomonella

Symptoms

Misshapen, pitted and sunken areas on fruit surface; browning and rotting of apple flesh.
Management

Use red spherical sticky traps to trap adults, place one trap for every 100 apple fruits;
bag apples by tying or stapling polythene bags around fruit to prevent adults laying eggs
cut corners from bags to ensure air supply to fruit; spray fruit with insecticide prior to
eggs being laid.
Apple Tree Pruning and Training: A few basic rules for apple pruning
Step 1

Remove the 2-3 largest limbs in the top 2/3 of the tree,
based on their diameter (apply the 2-1 rule, see #2). If
growing a free-standing, central-leader tree on more vigorous
rootstocks, apply this rule to the upper half of the tree above
any permanent scaffold limbs. (The bottom limbs are
permanent scaffolds. After year 6-8 you may need to remove
one of the permanent scaffolds, no more than one per tree
per year as needed.) Big branches make big trees.

Step 2
Use the 2-1 rule, also called diameter based pruning. This is
removing any scaffold branch or limb that is half the size or
larger in diameter as compared to the central leader. A
branch of this size chokes out the leader, not allowing the
tree to reach optimal fruiting capacity. For high density
systems like tall-spindle, use a bevel cut to remove these
limbs.

Step 3
Avoid heading cuts, remove the entire limb instead using a
thinning cut. The one exception to this rule is a heading cut
into newly planted trees (1 year old) that are to be grown to
a free-standing or staked central-leader tree where strong,
lower scaffold branching is desired in the bottom 1/3 of the
tree. Heading is the exception if you do not have the use of
the chemical 6-benzyladenine (6-Ba) to cause buds to
break. Never head into upright, vigorous 1 year old wood!

Step 4
Avoid complex branches on lateral limbs. We say simplify or de-complex the branch. If
any branch divides cut off one side. Treat your lateral or scaffold branches like your
leader, don’t let them divide and become forked. The more lateral or scaffold branches
that are ‘simplified’ the more desirable they are to produce high quality fruit.
Step5
Remove downward
hanging (pendant) branches with a thinning.

Practical # 3:
Plum
Botany of Plum Tree :

Plums' belong to the genus Prunus, sub genus Prunophora (plum and apricot) of the
family Rosaceae. There are about 15 cultivated species of plums, of which Prunus
domestica (European plum) and P. salicina (Japanese plum) are the most common. They
are true fruits and are characterized by having a distinct three-layered pericarp-an
exocarp, mesocarp, and a stony endocarp which encloses the seed.

Varieties :
Important varieties produced in various regions of Pakistan are: European plums: Fezle
Manani, Grand Duke, Gauzales, and Formusa; Japanese plums: Burbank, Wickson, and
Methley. Trees of P. domestica plum are medium-sized with a round top reaching a
height of 10 m or more.

Pollination :
Plums that are self-fertile (or self-compatible) will set fruit from their own pollen. If you
intend to plant just a single tree, choose one of these. Others are either partially self-
fertile or completely self-infertile, and need cross-pollination by another suitable variety.
In practice, this means you’ll need to plant two or more compatible trees near one
another. Even self-fertile plums, however, are more likely to produce better crops if they
are in a position to be cross-pollinated from other trees. Not all plums flower at the same
time. Cross pollination won’t take place between an early flowering and a late-flowering
variety, since insects can only transfer pollen from flower to flower when the blossoms
are open.

Pruning Plum Trees

Pruning of plum trees depends on the form wanted - pyramid, bush, standard or half
standard. Pyramid trees are pruned in a different way from the other forms. Pruning in
northern areas should be done in late winter or early spring in order to avoid winter
injury. Summer pruning makes the tree vulnerable to diseases. One year trees should be
headed back in the spring to encourage production of a strong and healthy main branch
 which will act as the central leader. The central leader system should' be maintained
each year by removing competitive leaders and excessive side,branching. Removal of
dead/disease wood and crossing branches is very important in maintaining a healthy and
productive tree.
Diseases
Black knot: Caused by the fungus Dibotryon morbosum. It will appear on current
season's growth as a 1 cm brown corky scab. It usually appears in late summer and will
continue to grow into a black warty mass not unlike dog feces.
Control: Prune all infected branches and burying or burning the infected wood. Make
sure to prune back at least 10 cm below knot to stop the spread of disease within the
branch.
Fire Blight:

All members of the sub-family Maloideae are susceptible to fire blight, although plums
are not highly vulnerable. Blighted leaves will tum brown and die but remain attached to
twigs. The twig may curl downwards producing a II shepherd's hook", and may release a
clear amber liquid. Symptoms usually appear in spring caused by the bacterium Erwinia
amylovora. Bacteria can spread by wind, rain, insects and contaminated pruning tools.
Control:

Prune back infected branches to 25cm past the diseased wood. Branches should also be
burned or buried immediately. Pruning tools should be-dipped in Lysol or bleach after
each cut is made to avoid the spread of infection.
Insects Attack on Plum:

 San Jose Scale

Symptoms:

• limbs encrusted with small, circular, black and gray

armored scales • Reduced tree vigor

Management:
 A 2% oil application during leaf expansion will kill overwintering immature scales, but not
adult scales. Adults are difficult to kill, but die after their offspring (crawlers) emerge. To
kill crawlers, apply bifenthrin or carbaryl in early June.

 Speckled Green Fruitworm

Symptoms:

• Chewed leaves • Early fruit drop • Scarred fruit

Management:

A single application of an organic insecticide containing Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) or

spinosad, in spring after fruit starts forming, is very effective.

 Western Flower Thrips:

Symptoms:

• Fruit scarring • Deformed fruit

Management:

Only an insecticide will prevent this injury. Spinosad

can be applied when petals drop from flowers and at
dawn or dusk (when bees are not foraging).
 Practical # 4 :

Peach
Botany of Peach
The peach (Prunuspersica) is the second most important stone fruit (after plums) in
Pakistan .It belongs to the sub-genusAmygdalusof the Rosaceae family ,as does almond.
The cultivated peach tree is generally vigorously growing and spreading in nature. The
leaves are broadly lanceolate and coarsely serrated. The simple flowering buds have a
dense wooly appearance. They are located laterally in leaf axils, and borne on one-year-
oldbranches singlyor in pairs with a leaf bud in between. They open before the leaf buds
in the early spring. The flower is hermaphroditic and perigynous ,the ovary being slightly
lower than the pinkish petals. The fruit is a drupe which encloses a bony endocarp with a
ridged surface.
Varieties.
There are both dwarf and tall-growing varieties. In the Peshawar region about four dozen
varieties have been tested. A few of them are recommended: Jubilee, Golden, Robin,
Wiggin, and6-A. In Quetta, Golden Early, Shah Pasand, and Shireen are important.

Pollination
Peaches and nectarines are self-fertile, which means that a single tree planted on its own
should pollinate itself without pollen from neighbors. However, the blossoms open early
in the year when it may still be too cold for many insects to be active, so hand pollination
may be necessary.
TRAINING
In December to January of the first year (three months after planting the tree), when the
new buds start to break, cut the tree back to roughly 60cm (2 ft) above ground. It is
essential that at least two left and two right facing buds remain - one from each will form
the principal structure of the tree. See In the first summer, select the strongest left and
right branches and remove all other shoots from the main stem. Cut back the central
trunk back to 10cm (4in) above the highest branch.
PRUNING
 In the second summer (July), remove all growths from both of the main branches, leaving
only three on each branch - two pointing upwards and one pointing downwards. The
branches should first be pruned around April time after the flowers have faded and the
fruit is beginning to form. Examine the branches which are bearing fruit and remove all
new shoots on them with the exception of the following:
Do not remove the shoot nearest the base of the branch this should be allowed to
develop and will bear fruit next year.
Keep three or four of the healthiest shoots which have young developing fruit.
o Peach trees are trained according to the central-leader or modified-central-Ieader system,
which gives them a strong frame. Annual pruning of bearing trees is essential for
peaches, as it is related to their typical bearing habit. Peaches bear laterally on
previous-year growth. Fruit buds may be located in the center or on the basal portion of
the shoots indifferent varieties.
DISEASES OF PEACH

Leaf Curl
The most important preventable pest for peach trees is peach leaf curl. The fungus
'Taphrinadeformans', which is responsible for the disease, over-winters in cracks in the
bark.

Brown Rot
When peaches are grown under the warm humid conditions conducive to fungal
diseases, it canbe difficult to forego the use of fungicides. Brown rot (causal organisms:
Moniliniafructicolaand M. laxa) is foremost among fungal diseases, and peach producers
struggle with it continually, as it affects both fruit yield and quality, and infests
blossoms, twigs ,and fruit in all stages.
Control:
Brown rot involves the integration of several tactics. Cultural practices and orchard
sanitation are the first line of defense. Planting site selection and pruning are critical to
providing sufficient air circulation within the canopy.
Insect & Pests :
The peach tree borer
The peach tree borer (Synanthedon exitiosa) and lesser peach tree borer can be major
pests of peaches. Borers feed on the inner bark of trees, where they may killthe tree by
girdling or cause the bark to peel away, exposing the tree to other pests and diseases.
Other hosts for the borers include wild and cultivated cherry, plum, prune ,nectarine,
apricot, and certain ornamental shrubs of the genus Prunus.

Peach twig borer

The peach twig borer (Anarsialineatella) is only a minor pest in the eastern U.s., but it's a
significant problem in Texas and the West. The larvae emerge in the spring and then bore
into twigs and buds before pupating into dark gray moths. Treatment after borers have
entered the tree is much less effective than treatrner',cduring the dormant or bloom
period. Peach twig borers are usually not a problem in orchards that are sprayed each
year at the delayed dormant period with lime-sulfur or with a 3% oil emulsion. Two to
three Bacillus thuringiens is sprays at bloom also appear to be effective against the twig
borer.

Practical # 5
Tests Of Fruit Juices

Objective: To measure pH, hardness, TSS and titrable acidity of grape fruit.

Test 1

Experiment: Measuring the hydrogen ion activity in the fruit

extract.

Instrument: pH meter

Principle:
The principle of pH meter is the concentration of hydrogen ions in the solution e.g., it is
the negative logarithm of a hydrogen ion. 

Working:

 The pH meter nodes are inserted in distilled water that calibrated its reading to 7.
 The nodes of pH meter were inserted into the extracted juice of the fruit.
 The meter displayed the value of the

Result:

The pH value of grape fruit juice was 9.12.

Test 2

Experiment: Measuring the penetrability of the fruit.

Instrument: Penetrometer

Principle: a penetrometer is a device that is used to measure

the strength of a material.

Working:

 The plunger with a needle or cone was pressed against the walls of the grapefruit.
 As the needle was being pressed, the greater the force being applied the larger
was the reading on the penetrometer.
 The point at which the needle of the penetrometer broke through the skin of fruit
was recorded.

Test 3
Experiment: determining the TSS of the fruit

Instrument: Refractometer

Principle:

The refractometer measures the total soluble solids by

measuring the index of refraction.

Working:
  The juice extracted from fruit was place on the measuring prism using a dropper.
 It was then covered with illuminator flap.
 As light passes through the liquid from the air it will slow down and create a
‘bending’ illusion, the severity of the ‘bend’ will depend on the amount of
substance dissolved in the liquid. 
 The eye piece of the refractometer is kept at eye level and the value is represented
on the scale.

Result:

The TSS of grapefruit juice was observed to be 8.8 brix

Test 4
Instrument: Burette, measuring flask,

Principle:

It is a laboratory method that is used to determine the

concentration of an unknown analyte.

Working:

 In titration flask 10 ml extracted juice was taken

and mixed with 40ml distilled water.
 Four to five drops phenolphthalein was added as an indicator.
 The mixture in the flask was titrated against 0.1 M NAOH until light pink color
appeared.

Calculations:

T.A. = NaOH used × N of NaOH × equivalent weight of tartaric acid ×100

Volume of juice used for titration (ml)

Practical # 6
 Varietal characteristics of grapes
Flame seedless:

Colour:Brightred
Size:Medium
T.S.S.:18%
Acidity:0.7%
Yield:10abovekg/plant

Cardinal:

Colour:Darkred
Size:Medium
T.S.S.:16-18%
Acidity:0.4-0.6%
Juicecontent:70%

Perlette:

Colour:Whitishgreen
Size:Medium large
T.S.S.:16-18%
Acidity:0.5-0.7%
Yield:35tonnes/hectare

Thompson seedless:

Colour:Yellowish green
Size:Medium large
T.S.S.:20-22%
Acidity:0.5-0.8%
Yield:21000kg/hectare