Ethephon Application on Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) Trees: Productive and Physiological Experience in a Temperate Climate Zone

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This manuscript presents a comprehensive investigation into the effects of ethephon (ETH) on yield-related traits in hazelnut, with substantial experimental data. However, the organization and presentation of figures require significant revision.

 

Major Points:

1)Figures 2 and 3 should be consolidated into a single figure since they represent identical statistical parameters under different treatments. Additionally, the meaning of the asterisk (*) in Figure 2 needs clarification as no corresponding significance markers are present in the data.

2)Error bars and significance analysis should be added for "Total Yield" data in current Figures 2 and 3.

3)Figures 4 and 5 should be merged.

4)Figures 7 and 8 should be combined.

5)A complete figure legend is required for Figure 9.

 

Minor Points:

1)The font size of axis labels in Figure 1 should be increased for better readability.

2)The number of significant digits for percentage values should be standardized (Lines 213, 216, etc.).

3)Redundant "Table 2" references should be removed (Lines 234, 257).

4)Duplicate table identifiers should be eliminated (Tables 3, 4, etc.).

5)The term "ethephon" should be consistently abbreviated as "ETH" (Line 581).

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your invaluable feedback. We take all your kind suggestions. We added the error bars and significance analysis in Figures 2 and 3 (now 3 and 4) and complete the caption in Figure 9 (now 10). For a better understanding of season separations of experiment, we kept figures 4 and 5 (now 5 and 6), and figures 7 and 8 (now 8 and 9) by separate. We thank you again for taking the time to make such a detailed review.

 

Yours sincerely,

The Authors

 

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The study addresses a significant challenge in hazelnut production—harvest synchronization. Given the importance of timing in nut quality and logistics, the research holds practical implications for growers in temperate climates. The use of multiple concentrations of ethephon and the longitudinal study over three different seasons enhances the robustness of the findings, allowing for a clearer understanding of seasonal variations in tree response. The authors evaluate different parameters such as nut drop timing, kernel yield, and tree growth responses.  The take-home message is that specific concentrations of ethephon (particularly ETH250 and ETH500) effectively synchronize nut drops, which could significantly improve harvest efficiency while maintaining quality.

 

Even though there are some points that require major improvement in order to meet the standards of quality of agronomy,. 

 

1. Weak clarity: Most of the data is represented in graphs, with the statistical significance given as letters. This is complicated to follow. It is much better to represent tables 1-10 as graph bars. This could better illustrate the differences and support the conclusions drawn. In addition, tables 5 and 6 are given without statistical analysis.

2. The paper mentions the absence of adverse effects on inflorescence activity but does not elaborate on how different ETH treatments affected other physiological responses in trees. A deeper analysis of the biochemical mechanisms could provide valuable insights. Authors should describe in the discussion which parameters they have evaluated to confirm that there is no negative effect of the treatment.

3. The text suggests varying results across seasons without adequately discussing environmental factors or management practices that may have influenced these differences. Please discuss which factors could explain this variability.

4. Although industrial quality parameters are mentioned, the study does not sufficiently address how these parameters interact with nut yield. Does the treatment affect yield? How? This should be clearly stated.

So the paper could be publishable but still requires major improvements. 

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Please check the use of English, as there are some problems in the grammar. For instance, in the abstract:

"Chile contributes with 4% of global hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) production, mainly developed in temperate regions high autumn rainfall and humidity during harvest, ."

 

Also try to rewrite the abstract as a single paragraph

 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your invaluable feedback. We take all your kind suggestions. We present tables 5 and 6 only as a report for better understanding, that is why we do not add statistical analysis.

Concerning your observation about the interaction between the quality parameter and nut yield, we would like to comment that the main objective of our work was the synchronization of the nut drop, however, we reported the yield as relevant data in agriculture and particularly on this species.

From our work, we just explained in text seasonal variations and their effect on variables, but they weren´t  an influence on ETH applications. 

We appreciate your suggestion to leave the abstract as a single paragraph. We thank you again for taking the time to make such a detailed review.

 

Yours sincerely,

The Authors

 

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript contains quite interesting results from a 3-year study with ethephon application on hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) trees. These are innovative results and provide new knowledge on the subject.

I want to ask the Authors to answer the following questions:

1. how can the obtained research results be transferred to agricultural practice?
2. what are the limitations?

Comments

The manuscript is in the wrong template – Agronomy 2024, 14.

Materials and Methods

Please complete the manuscript with a figure showing the location of the study site.

Figure 1 needs to be completed with the hydrothermal coefficient and multi-year averages.

Please indicate the composition of the Ethrel® 48 SL product used. Who is the producer?

Please provide a brief characterisation of the hazelnut variety tested.

Please characterise the disease and pest protection in more detail.

Please provide full details of the producer of the statistical software.

Results

I do not understand the placement of Table 2. Explanations should be provided below it, not in the table. This comment also applies to the other tables.

Figure 9

There is no caption.

Conclusions

They are too long, please shorten them considerably.

References

I suggest removing publications that were published before 2015 (they are more than 10 years old) and focus on the most recent ones.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your invaluable feedback. We take all your kind suggestions. In response to your initial questions, part of our objective is the technological transference of our study. Moreover, during the three seasons of the study, no limitations were found after ETH application, but the door remains open for further evaluation.

Following the line of your comments, we have corrected the template, and we appreciate the suggestion to add a figure that locates the study site. We added the composition and producer of the product used and included a brief characterization of the variety used in the Materials section. Rearranged the tables within the document, incorporated the description of Figure 9.

The conclusions section is difficult to shorten as it gives a better idea of the results obtained. Although it was suggested that we remove literature prior to 2015, it is very relevant since they represent the first approaches to work on the species for the southern part of Chile.

However, we thank you again for taking the time to make such a detailed review.

 

Yours sincerely,

The Authors

 

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors have answered all my concerns.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Authors have greatly improved the manuscript. I can now endorse publication