2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Abstract

Postharvest needle abscission is one of the Christmas tree industry’s major issues and frequent complaint from the consumer’s standpoint. Water quality in Christmas tree stands is one major factor shown to affect abscission. Bacteria grows exponentially in Christmas tree stands increasing turbidity. Simply replacing the water in Christmas tree stands daily delays abscission by 38%, but altering stand water through other chemical or physical methods could also improve needle retention. Our experiment tested three different modified water systems (A, B, and C) against a control of standing water in two different genotypes (one known for low needle retention and the other for high needle retention). System B significantly (P < 0.05) delayed abscission by 30% in low needle retaining genotypes, but did not improve needle retention in high needle retaining genotypes. However, system C significantly (P < 0.05) delayed abscission in both low and high needle retaining genotypes by 39% and 23%, respectively. Water system B (and to a lesser extent water system A) were effective at delaying abscission comparable to completely replacing the Christmas tree stand water supply each day.