Accede PGR Now Available to Extend Chemical Thinning Window for Apples
March 10, 2022 Valent USA announced the EPA registration of Accede Plant Growth Regulator Liquid Concentrate, which offers apple growers a new tool to chemically thin apples for effective crop load management. Accede expands the chemical thinning window, allowing for “late thinning” when king fruit is sized 15 to 20 millimeters (mm).
Until now, when fruitlets were 15 mm to 20 mm, hand thinning was the only option if additional crop load management was needed, which can be costly and time intensive. But with an application of Accede, growers can effectively chemically thin their fruit up to 15 to 20 mm, allowing the king fruitlet more resources to increase in size, ultimately bringing better quality fruit to harvest.
“Crafting a plan for PGRs can be one of the most challenging aspects of apple growing,” Kevin Forney, PGR Product Development Manager for Valent USA, says. “But now, with the addition of Accede into a program, growers can tackle the late thinning window and reduce the need for costly hand thinning.”
How Accede Works
Accede is derived from a naturally occurring plant hormone called 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, commonly known as ACC, which is quickly converted into ethylene using the plant’s natural biochemical pathways. The ethylene that is generated from applying Accede stimulates fruit drop. The remaining fruitlets have the resources to increase in size for higher-quality fruit.
Untreated ‘Gala’ (left) and Accede PGR-treated Gala.
Photos by Jon Clements
A study from Cornell University found Accede has higher efficacy when the fruitlets were 18 mm in size vs. 10 mm. Accede successfully thinned fruit set by 56% to 65% when applied when fruit are 18 mm vs. the untreated control.
“Accede shows best efficacy when used in a thinning program with other PGRs,” Forney says. “PGRs like PoMaxa Plant Growth Regulator and MaxCel Plant Growth Regulator Solution perform best when fruitlets are 5 to 15 mm, and then Accede comes in for the late thinning window when fruitlets are 15 to 20 mm. Together, these products help growers achieve their desired level of apple thinning.”
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