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Tree vigor, fruit yield and quality of nectarine trees grown under red photoselective anti-hail net in Southern Italy
No full text
Tree vigor, fruit yield and quality of nectarine trees grown under red photoselective anti-hail nets in Southern Italy
No full textIn Italy, hailstorms represent a major threat for fruit tree cultivation. Therefore many peach growers have protected their orchards with anti-hail nets. Many studies have demonstrated that photoselective shade nets can induce interesting photomorphogenic effects on several cultivated species. The aim of the present research was to study the effect of red photoselective anti-hail nets on nectarine tree vigor, fruit yield, and fruit quality. The study was carried out in a private orchard located in Eboli (Southern Italy) on mature nectarine trees 'Laura' grafted on GF677. On February 2008, five rows of trees were covered with a red photoselective anti-hail net (30% shade factor), whereas another five rows were covered with a white, transparent anti-hail net (10% shade factor) that is the most common type of anti-hail net used in the area. During the experiment a number of parameters related to tree vigor, fruit yield and quality were measured. Trees under the red net had higher light interception than trees under the white net and this suggests that the red net induced an increase in tree vigor, as previously reported for other species. Net color did not significantly affect the number of fruit per tree and fruit yield. Similarly, there were no significant differences in fruit size distribution or fresh fruit weight between trees under the two types of nets. Both cover and ground color of fruit skin was slightly, but significantly, less under red nets. On the other hand, fruit of trees under the red net tended to have significantly higher flesh firmness, lower soluble solids content and lower percent dry matter than fruit of trees under the white net. These effects may be related to a slight delay in fruit maturation induced by the red net or to a negative effect of this net on sugar accumulation in the fruit (potentially because of the higher shade factor of the red net compared to the white net)
Effects of early shading and defoliation on bunch compactness, yield components, and berry composition of Aglianico grapevines under warm climate conditions
No full textPrebloom leaf removal is a canopy management practice used in viticulture to decrease bunch compactness at harvest. However, this practice may not be suitable in dry and warm areas because it may expose bunches to excessive direct sunlight, undesirably decreasing titratable acidity and increasing the pH of berry juice. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that shading between preanthesis and fruit set may be used for Aglianico grapevines as an alternative strategy to decrease bunch compactness without removing leaves around the bunches. This treatment was also thought to maintain berry juice acidity at harvest. The following nine treatments were compared: two defoliations (50 and 90% leaf removal), five whole-canopy shadings (10, 30, 50, 75, and 90% reduction of ambient
light), one partial canopy shading (using a 30% shade net), and an unshaded and undefoliated control treatment. Fruit set, berry number per bunch, bunch weight, and yield per vine were significantly affected by several of these treatments. Bunch compactness was reduced only by shading in the range of 50 to 90%. Surprisingly, defoliation decreased fruit set but not bunch compactness because the defoliation caused shortening of the total length of the bunch axes. Berry composition was not negatively affected by 50 to 90% shading, whereas defoliations and 10 to 30% shading decreased titratable acidity and increased the pH of the berry juice at harvest. Flower number per bunch in 2010 decreased linearly with decreasing net photosynthesis per shoot measured in 2009 between prebloom and fruit set. The results of this study suggest that early shading may be an efficient alternative practice to decrease bunch compactness without any negative effect on berry juice composition at harvest
Peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch]: An alien species of the Italian vascular flora
No full textPlant species distribution on Earth is a consequence of geographical biotic or abiotic barriers. Since its appearance on Earth, man has largely affected the presence
of organisms in nature and for many of them he has been a voluntary and/or accidentally diffusion agent. This is particularly true for agricultural crops. This has
represented a major threat for biodiversity conservation. Peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, Rosaceae Juss.], a phanerophyte-scapose native of western China, in Italy was probably introduced in the 1st century AD and today is widely cultivated. To quantify the dynamics of its naturalization and its current distribution in Italy and in the Campania region (Southern Italy), research was carried out in the national and regional floristic literature and by field surveys. At the present, this archaeophyte is reported in all the Italian regions, except the Apulia. In Campania its first finding in the wild occurred in 1955 near Mount Alburno (Salerno province). Recently, it was found in natural areas on the Vesuvius Grand Cone. At the present this species is reported for the provinces of Caserta, Naples, and Salerno and is considered as a casual alien plant of the Italian vascular flora
Tangible interfaces for download: initial observations from users' everyday environments
No full textTangible user interfaces (TUIs) have been promoted and discussed in the HCI community for 15 years. Most reported TUIs are research prototypes, available in laboratories or museums. This paper reports an attempt to understand the impact of TUIs in users' everyday environments through a low-cost, simple set-up tangible interface for music that can be freely downloaded from a website. The system requires only a regular computer, a webcam and a printer - the physical parts of the interface can be folded out of ordinary paper. Logging interaction with the interfaces and analyzing content posted by users on the web we observed that the TUIs were accepted as normal: just interfaces to make music rather than esoteric systems
Influence of branch autonomy on fruit growth and quality in nectarine trees
No full textDifferent studies have reported that peach tree branches are characterized by partial autonomy for carbon budget. Most of the studies have focused their attention on fruit growth, whereas no information is available about the effect of branch autonomy on fruit composition. The aim of this experiment was to study how branch autonomy affects fruit size and quality in nectarine trees. The trial was conducted in 2008, in Eboli (Italy), on ‘Rose Diamond’ nectarine trees grafted on GF677. The experiment compared four thinning treatments: a control treatment (C) including trees that were commercially fruit-thinned; a flower-bud thinning treatment (BT) applied homogeneously in all the canopy; a bud-thinning treatment where all the flower-buds of the top half of the canopy were removed, whereas in the bottom canopy layer thinning was applied at fruit stage as in the C treatment (Top-BT); the fourth treatment was similar to Top-BT, with the differences that the bottom layer was completely flower-bud thinned and the top commercially fruit thinned (Bottom-BT). Crop load in each canopy layer was very
similar between treatments. BT treatment induced significant increments in fruit fresh weight at harvest in both canopy layers and in soluble solids content (SSC) only in the bottom layer compared to the C. Interestingly, fruit size (in both canopy layers) and SSC (only in the bottom canopy layer) was higher in Bottom-BT and Top-BT trees compared to BT trees. The a* coordinate of the fruit skin cover color decreased slightly in thinned trees compared to control. Skin ground color and flesh firmness were very similar in Bottom-BT, Top-BT, and C trees. These results suggest that branch autonomy is only partial and carbon can move along relatively short pathways from canopy layers where demand for carbon is lower to layers where the demand is higher. These effects depended on the measured parameters and the canopy layer
Harvest index for mechanically handled peach fruits in post-harvest
No full textThe aim of this study was to define harvest indexes, based on peach skin ground color, suitable to allow mechanical grading and reach at the same time high fruit quality. Two cultivars, Springbelle and Douceur, were included in this research. In the first year of the study, harvest was performed in three pickings, fruit samples were graded with a mechanical sizer, and divided into seven categories based on their ground skin color, measured with a colorimeter. On the same fruit, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, and flesh firmness were measured. Moreover, the evaluation of damage eventually caused by grading and organoleptic tests were performed. These data were used to define harvest indexes based on the a* coordinate of skin ground color. The harvest indexes obtained during the first year were used as harvest index in the second year of the trial to test their suitability. The results showed that the method can be used successfully depending on the cultivar. Indeed, the model seems to work better on Springbelle, whereas skin ground color did not correlate with the qualitative characteristics and the ripening level of Douceur
Intra-canopy variability of fruit quality in kiwifruit vines protected by anti-hail nets
No full textIn several fruit trees species, it is well known that intra-canopy variability occurs in fruit quality at harvest. This variability in fruit growth and quality has been correlated to the heterogeneous distribution of light within the canopy. Scattered light has higher penetration capacity through the canopy than direct light. The aim of the present study was to verify if intra-canopy variability can be affected by protecting the vines with an anti-hail net that increases the percent of scattered light compared to normal ambient light. Specifically, we compared vines covered with a white anti-hail net that was able to increase the percent of scattered light in the PAR range with uncovered vines. At commercial harvest, 150 fruit per treatment were harvested separately on shoots located at the proximal and the terminal part of the fruiting canes (top and bottom canopy layers, respectively). At harvest and on two dates during cold-storage (after 2 and 4 months of cold-storage), 50 fruit per treatment were sampled to measure the following qualitative parameters: flesh firmness, soluble solids content, pH, flesh color, and percent of dry matter. Most of the fruit qualitative parameters were significantly affected by cold-storage, canopy layer, and the presence of the net. During cold-storage, flesh firmness, the L* and the b* flesh color coordinates decreased, whereas soluble solids content and the a* flesh color coordinate increased. Fruit from the top canopy layer had higher soluble solids, percent dry mass, and flesh color luminosity than fruit from the bottom canopy layer. Fruit quality was significantly improved under the anti-hail net. For instance, fruits of vines under the anti-hail nets had higher percent dry matter and soluble solids content than fruits of the uncovered vines. Within-canopy variability in fruit quality was not reduced in vines protected with anti-hail nets
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