Abstract:
This study will provide information on the possibility of improving the color of apples in the conditions of the Republic of Moldova. Extenday reflective film, a method practiced in both Europe and the United States, was used to enhance the coloring of apples. The film was installed in the first decade of September, 4 weeks before the fruit was harvested, on the soil surface, between rows. The data obtained show that the fruits of the Fuji Kiku variety, in the case of installing the reflective film, were colored much more intensely compared to the control without film. The fruit harvest took place in the second decade of October, when the fruits were well colored and the biochemical indices reached the optimal values of maturity. In the control variant, 75% of the fruits were colored on half of the surface of the epicarp and only 25% were reddened on an area of 60-70%. In the version with reflective film, over 72% of the fruits had the epicarp colored in red-orange on an area of over 80% and only 28% of the fruits had the covering color on less than 70% of the surface of the fruit. The Fuji Kiku apple variety needs several harvesting stages to obtain "Extra" and Category I fruit. The use of reflective film has helped to harvest over 70% of high quality fruit in the first stage.
