How to manage the orchard in a changing climate: living mulches and netting systems

It will be necessary for fruit production to be sustainable, in order to preserve the income of the farmers and to increase ecosystem services in the face of climate change, which will cause a reduction of biodiversity and soil fertility.
The negative effects of climate change can be reduced by developing innovative strategies or adapting traditional techniques.
Intensive apricot and plum production systems are characterized by increasing planting density, early fruit bearing, small tree size, high crop loads, short orchard life-span, easy mechanical management and frequent replanting.
The achievement of consistently high fruit quality depends on efficient canopy architecture management from the nursery to the orchard.
Innovation in crop-management regimes needs strategies to control plant and root development that are able to optimize and simplify orchard management, even though drought and temperature are becoming more stressing.
New holistic approaches capable of reconnecting agriculture and biodiversity in the orchards, with living mulches and netting systems to face the erratic climate conditions, represent promising frontiers for fruit production.

I International Symposium on Apricot and Plum

D. Neri, V. Giorgi, E.M. Lodolini

roots, sustainability, biodiversity, climate change, multifunctional netting systems

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2026.1450.2