The UF/IFAS Tip of the Week looks at research into the importance of timing brassinosteroids to improve Hamlin brix.
A Tip of the Week article by UF/IFAS researchers, published on the Citrus Industry website, shared that “UF/IFAS work in the last few years has shown that BR treatments may influence internal maturity in Hamlin sweet orange if performed at the right time.” BR refers to Brassinosteroids, ”a class of plant growth regulators with several effects on plant growth and development.“ See the takeaways from the research below.
Timing of Brassinosteroids
The article maintains that “Research has determined that a treatment of 186 milliliters of BR (0.1%) per 100 gallons of water applied just once at the right time of fruit maturation has the most consistent results.”
Additional takeaways from the research include:
- “For mature trees 7 years or older, 1 gallon of the prepared solution per tree is typically used for full tree coverage.”
- “In Hamlin, significant differences in Brix were seen when treatments are performed in a time window between mid-November and mid-December, with harvesting occurring two weeks after treatment. In these conditions, an increase in Brix from 7.9 (controls) to 8.9 (BR-treated trees) was realized.”
- “Trees in better shape respond better to the treatments.”
The article ended with “Research is now investigating the use of BRs in trees that have recovered a dense healthy canopy after oxytetracycline treatment. It is hypothesized that the better health status will result in a better response to the BR sprays and better fruit quality.”
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