ISHS Acta Horticulturae 243: IV International Symposium on Research and Development on Orchard and Plantation Systems
LIGHT INTERCEPTION AND PHOTOSYNTHESIS RELATED TO PLANTING DENSITY AND CANOPY MANAGEMENT IN APPLE |
| Authors: | L. Corelli, S. Sansavini |
| Abstract:
For any given training system, orchard design (i.e. row arrangement) is strictly related to planting density. The relationship between the number of trees per hectare and productivity, however, is not linear. A threshold can be determined, increasing from single to multiple rows, above which the total productivity cannot be raised by increasing the number of trees per hectare. Fruit quality declines at planting densities lower than those that can negatively affect productivity. In double and triple row designs, difficulties arise in orchard management, with effects on costs and fruit quality. It is therefore obvious that the cost/benefit threshold in HDP must be determined on the basis of fruit quality as well as quantity. The relationship between light levels received by the leaves and their photosynthetic activity and its implications on orchard design, row and tree form is discussed. Light intensity decreases more from the upper to the lower part of a tree, in a triple- or double-row system, than it does in a single row system, thereby affecting CO2 uptake but photosynthetic rates for heavily shaded leaves were higher than expected. | |
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