Articles
Developing high-density training systems in Prunus tree species for an efficient and sustainable production
Article number
1346_28
Pages
219 – 228
Language
English
Abstract
In Spain, the total surface occupied by deciduous fruit species in 2019 was 190,414 ha.
Peach is the second most important Prunus species in Spain.
China leads the ranking, followed by Spain with 77,464 ha.
Cherry has experienced an important increase in production with a special development in Chile.
In Spain, the surface in 2019 was 27,604 ha for cherry.
Almonds accounted for 700,100 ha in 2020 and is one of the species that experienced the most significant increase in production in the last decade.
The common trend of all these species concerning orchard design is the intensification, which combines mid to low vigour rootstocks and training systems based on bidimensional canopies.
In peach, size-controlling rootstocks, such as Rootpac 40, and intensive orchards allowed both earlier and higher yields, with a 105 t ha‑1 in 7-year-old trees, compared to the Spanish open vase.
Planar canopies efficiently used mechanical flower thinning and mechanical pruning, improving the harvest rate efficiency.
As a result, a reduction of the production cost of 20% was recorded, with an additional increase in fruit colour and size, due to a more uniform light distribution into the canopy.
Similar results were obtained in cherry with planar canopies, increasing the harvest rate by 72% compared to the control.
Those results were obtained with Sweet series cultivars grafted on Gisela 5 rootstock, early and high yields, from 25 to 30 t ha‑1 of cumulative yields in the 4th leaf, with an average fruit size of 28-32 mm.
In the French plum for dehydration, the development of hedge allowed complete mechanisation of the harvest, early yields and excellent fruit quality for fresh consumption.
In almonds, super high density (SHD) development, using the size-controlling rootstock Rootpac 20, allowed from 1.7 to 2.3 t ha‑1 of kernel in the third year, complete mechanisation of pruning and harvest and a reduction of production cost compared with the traditional open vase.
Peach is the second most important Prunus species in Spain.
China leads the ranking, followed by Spain with 77,464 ha.
Cherry has experienced an important increase in production with a special development in Chile.
In Spain, the surface in 2019 was 27,604 ha for cherry.
Almonds accounted for 700,100 ha in 2020 and is one of the species that experienced the most significant increase in production in the last decade.
The common trend of all these species concerning orchard design is the intensification, which combines mid to low vigour rootstocks and training systems based on bidimensional canopies.
In peach, size-controlling rootstocks, such as Rootpac 40, and intensive orchards allowed both earlier and higher yields, with a 105 t ha‑1 in 7-year-old trees, compared to the Spanish open vase.
Planar canopies efficiently used mechanical flower thinning and mechanical pruning, improving the harvest rate efficiency.
As a result, a reduction of the production cost of 20% was recorded, with an additional increase in fruit colour and size, due to a more uniform light distribution into the canopy.
Similar results were obtained in cherry with planar canopies, increasing the harvest rate by 72% compared to the control.
Those results were obtained with Sweet series cultivars grafted on Gisela 5 rootstock, early and high yields, from 25 to 30 t ha‑1 of cumulative yields in the 4th leaf, with an average fruit size of 28-32 mm.
In the French plum for dehydration, the development of hedge allowed complete mechanisation of the harvest, early yields and excellent fruit quality for fresh consumption.
In almonds, super high density (SHD) development, using the size-controlling rootstock Rootpac 20, allowed from 1.7 to 2.3 t ha‑1 of kernel in the third year, complete mechanisation of pruning and harvest and a reduction of production cost compared with the traditional open vase.
Publication
Authors
I. Iglesias, J. Torrents
Keywords
intensification, hedge, planar canopies, production cost, profitability, efficiency, sustainability
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