Calcium material and quality of cherries

Cherries orchards

For   us the production of cherries unfortunatelyinsufficient , and little producers decide to invest in the cultivation of cherries . Modernplantations can almost be counted on the fingers of one hand , and Slavonia is something more serious attempt to establish plantations in the wider area Aljmaš hills and in the area of Baranja. So far this very small area. One of the important factors in the production of cherries is the effect of Ca on quality andstorability of fruits. Until now, published a lot of scientific papers on the subject and all stand out unusually large , perhaps the key role of macro nutrients to the quality of the fruit cherries . A group of researchers from  Oregon State University revealed thattargeted treatments with calcium materials  in the vegetation, and after harvest can improve fruit quality cherries in terms of its storage capacity, as well as other qualitative characteristics. This is very important if the producers of cherries cherries are intended to be transported long distances. Researchers  have discovered a number of interesting information regarding the impact of calcium on different  skin defects cherries (splitting, pitting, grooving, posmeđenja).

The fruits of cherries right with symptoms pitting. The photo was taken from
http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.edu/

Pitting can be caused by heat or mechanical damage, and is reflected in the witheringand drying station mesocarp the epidermis fruit cherries. A lot of damage and usually happens during harvest and packaging , and cherry, and otherwise has a high level ofrespiration, and is particularly sensitive to this  damage . Calcium is of great importance in building cell walls , and the consequent it in their strength.  In practice, most of the fruits of fruit trees , including cherries in short supply in terms of calcium content , because hismobility and plant tissue unfortunately very small . The acid soil , high temperatures in the vegetation, lightly loaded trees, unstable water regime , certainly have a negativeeffect on the availability of nutrients .. Dr. Yan Wang is experimenting on more varieties of cherries and found that calcium levels in fruits ranged from 300 to 600 ppm.   It is clearly shown that the fruit with higher content of calcium were firmer and less prominentpitting  (pitting). Such are the fruits of better tolerated way to the target of marketing. The most important thing was to find an efficient way to get in as soon as possible , raise the level of calcium in the fruit. The experiments were made ​​applications with variouscalcium materials before harvest and immediately after harvest during hypothermia and both variants have shown promising potential. The best results were shown when carried out essentially by six weekly applications starting from the moment when the kernel starts with ossification, and the final week days before the projected harvest. The concentration of 0.1% has proven to be the best in the applications, and the concentration of over 0.15%can lead to damage to the leaves. In a study done with calcium chloride , calcium nitrate , calcium citrate, and calcium chelate. The results show that the more importantcommon frequency treatment but only during treatment , but the leaves are as expected demonstrated greater sensitivity about the early stages of development. It has been shown and viewed on the fruit firmness,   chelated forms of calcium, applied in a concentration of 0.05%, was more effective than the chloride and nitrate forms of calcium applied in 0.1 to 0.15% concentration, and the calcium citrate applied in a concentration of0.07%. These treatments have shown that after a three-week cooling reduce pitting, posmeđenja, and loss of strength. It turned out that only five minutes of immersion in cold water in the process of pre-cooling (rapid reduction of field temp.plodova), to which was added by 0.2 - 2% calcium chloride was sufficient to significantly increase the level of calcium in the fruit. According to Wang level of calcium in the fruit in this way increased from30 -190%, which is dependent on the concentration of calcium in the water and on the particular varieties of cherries. 
In the end I worked after treatment with calcium during hypothermia observed to reduce pitting and cracking of fruits, increased strength and reduced deterioration of the fruit. It was found that the concentration of 0.2-0.5% were sufficient to fruit well preserved up to three weeks in the warehouse. Researchers throughout the world continue to explore therole of calcium in the manufacture of cherries in terms of its positive effects on quality and on return flowering, fruit yield and size , so that it can be expected of finding new solutions in the manner and time of application amounts of the calcium material , and all the the aim of further increasing the quality of their fruits and the more prolonged storage.