Articles
A new agro-ecosystem for a resilient fruit production
Article number
1457_96
Pages
763 – 770
Language
English
Abstract
Modern conventional fruit production often involves mono-varietal orchard plots, with inter-row management using traditional approaches, such as tillage or permanent grass cover, which are characterized by low biodiversity and limited provision of ecosystem services.
Along with climate change, small farm holdings (<5 ha), which account for about 50% of the total EU farms, face a risk of high economic instability.
The project entitled: “Diversified orchards for resilient and sustainable farming systems” (DREAM) aims to test a new agroecosystem concept, adapted to local environmental, economic, and social conditions in three fruit-producing areas: Italy and Morocco for apple and Spain for pear.
The DREAM system consists of a multi-varietal orchard, with the interrow managed with a selected mixture of cover crops.
In 2023, the physiological pattern of the DREAM apple orchard located in Italy was tested along the growing season and compared to that of a commercial ‘Pink Lady’ orchard.
Although still not in production, the 9 cultivars present in the DREAM system showed high variability in seasonal shoot growth, while no differences were found for stem and leaf water potential as well as for leaf gas exchanges, meaning that the cover crops did not penalize the physiological performance of the young trees.
Future research will be conducted to monitor the plant responses under deficit irrigation conditions and their repercussions on fruit quality.
Along with climate change, small farm holdings (<5 ha), which account for about 50% of the total EU farms, face a risk of high economic instability.
The project entitled: “Diversified orchards for resilient and sustainable farming systems” (DREAM) aims to test a new agroecosystem concept, adapted to local environmental, economic, and social conditions in three fruit-producing areas: Italy and Morocco for apple and Spain for pear.
The DREAM system consists of a multi-varietal orchard, with the interrow managed with a selected mixture of cover crops.
In 2023, the physiological pattern of the DREAM apple orchard located in Italy was tested along the growing season and compared to that of a commercial ‘Pink Lady’ orchard.
Although still not in production, the 9 cultivars present in the DREAM system showed high variability in seasonal shoot growth, while no differences were found for stem and leaf water potential as well as for leaf gas exchanges, meaning that the cover crops did not penalize the physiological performance of the young trees.
Future research will be conducted to monitor the plant responses under deficit irrigation conditions and their repercussions on fruit quality.
Publication
Authors
M. Venturi, A. Giovannini, R. Dreux, C. Franceschini, A. Bordoni, F. Sgolastra, S. Berzuini, F. Zanetti, B. Morandi
Keywords
apple, plant physiology, cover crops, agroecosystem, climate change
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