"Hong Long" Lychee ( Sonn.) Is the Optimal Pollinizer for the Main Lychee Cultivars in Israel.

The lychee fruit is in high demand worldwide. However, the yields of many cultivars are low, including the high-quality cultivars "Nuomici" (NMC) and "Fei Zi Xiao" (FZX), which are very tasty and produce large fruit with a small seed, but tend to shed their fruitlets. In a previous work, we found that cross-hand pollination of "Mauritius" (MA) with pollen of another cultivar increased fruit set and reduced fruit-drop in comparison to self-hand pollination.

Metamitron, a Photosynthetic Electron Transport Chain Inhibitor, Modulates the Photoprotective Mechanism of Apple Trees.

Chemical thinning of apple fruitlets is an important practice as it reduces the natural fruit load and, therefore, increases the size of the final fruit for commercial markets. In apples, one chemical thinner used is Metamitron, which is sold as the commercial product Brevis (Adama, Ashdod, Israel). This thinner inhibits the electron transfer between Photosystem II and Quinone-b within light reactions of photosynthesis.

Bumblebees () Improve 'Hass' Avocado () Pollination.

Pollination is limiting for avocado production. We examined whether adding bumblebees (BBs; ca. 10 hives/ha) to conventional honeybees (HB; 5 hives/ha) would improve 'Hass' avocado pollination and yields.

Cytokinin treatment modifies litchi fruit pericarp anatomy leading to reduced susceptibility to post-harvest pericarp browning.

Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is a subtropical fruit known for its attractive red pericarp color, semi-translucent white aril and unique flavor and aroma. Rapid post-harvest pericarp browning strictly limits litchi fruit marketing.

Identification of candidate genes mediating apple fruit-cracking resistance following the application of gibberellic acids 4 + 7 and the cytokinin 6-benzyladenine.

Calyx-end cracking in 'Pink Lady' apple is treated by a solution of gibberellic acids 4 and 7 (GA) and the cytokinin 6-benzyladenine (BA). Although the GA and BA mixture is applied early in apple fruit development, it mitigates cracking that becomes evident in the mature fruit, implying a long-term treatment effect. The reduced incidence of peel cracking is associated with increased epidermal cell density, which is maintained until fruit maturation.

Benzyladenine and gibberellin treatment of developing "Pink Lady" apples results in mature fruits with a thicker cuticle comprising clusters of epidermal cells.

A mixture of 6-benzyladenine (BA) and gibberellins GA4 plus GA7 applied to "Pink Lady" apple at early phenological stages was previously shown to result in an immediate increase in epidermal cell density and associated reduction in calyx-end cracking disorder in the mature fruit, implying a long-term effect of the BA + GA4+7 mixture. Here, we analyzed the anatomical changes in the mature peel at the calyx end 210 days after full bloom (DAFB), following application of the plant growth regulators (PGRs) at the cell-division phase of fruit development, 21-50 DAFB. Experiments were conducted in northern Israel, and the PGRs were applied as the commercial formulation Superlon™ (Fine Agrochemicals Ltd.