The budbreak promoters application is one of main management strategies used to decrease the problems of insufficient winter chilling on temperate fruit trees. Because the influence of budbreak promoters on productive behaviour of plants, detecting this effects along of productive season became important. Thus, this study was carried out during 2007/2008 season, in Caçador, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, aiming to evaluate different hydrogen cyanamide and mineral oil combinations on phenology, budbreak and apple fruit production. The experimental design was a randomized block, with six replications, in factorial arrangement (5x2), with five budbreak promoter treatments (1. control; 2. mineral oil 3.2%; 3. mineral oil 3.2% + hydrogen cyanamide 0.20%; 4. mineral oil 3.2% + hydrogen cyanamide 0.39%; 5. mineral oil 3.2% + hydrogen cyanamide 0.59%) and two cultivars (Imperial Gala and Suprema's Fuji). The budbreak promoters application anticipated and reduced the blooming period, increasing the blooming overlap between Imperial Gala and Suprema's Fuji cultivars. The budbreak promoters equalized and increased the budbreak in axillary and terminal buds, with the major budbreak level observed in Imperial Gala cultivar with 0.44% of hydrogen cyanamide and 3.2% of mineral oil treatment. The increase of hydrogen cyanamide concentration showed the tendency to decrease the fruit set. It was observed different treatment responses on production and mean fruit weight, probably to be related to fruit production predominance in different frutification structures.
dormancy; budbreak promoters; Malus domestica
