To investigate the effects of drought stress on the growth and fruit quality of apple trees, an 8-year-old Changfu No.2 Red Fuji apple tree in Yanhu District of Shanxi Province was selected as the experimental subject. Four water treatments including normal irrigation, mild drought, moderate drought, and severe drought were set up to explore the effects of drought stress on the growth and fruit quality of apple trees. The results showed that as the severity of drought stress increased, the germination rate, fruit setting rate, new shoot growth, and fruit size of apple trees significantly decreased; net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, etc. also showed a significant downward trend; intercellular carbon dioxide concentration increased under moderate and severe drought stress, and water use efficiency increased slightly under mild drought but decreased with the aggravation of stress; drought stress significantly reduced the single fruit quality and unit area yield, while fruit quality indicators such as soluble solids, Vitamin C, and soluble sugar content increased under mild drought stress, but decreased significantly under moderate and severe drought.

drought stress  /  apple tree  /  growth indicators  /  photosynthetic characteristics  /  fruit quality  /  Yanhu District