APRICOT: PRESENT AND FUTURE

The expansion of production acreage has resulted in minor attention in the choice of growing sites and to a lesser care in meeting the microclimatic requirements of the stock/scion combination.

Orchards have been planted on land highly suited for mechanization and high density orchard systems.

This raises the need to develop cultivars and rootstocks adaptable to unfavourable pedoclimatic conditions and tolerant or resistant to the pathogens responsible for apricot decline (fungi, bacteria, viruses and mycoplasms).

Traditional planting densities (less than 500 trees/ha) have been practically abandoned in favour of higher planting densities (600 to 1300 trees/ha) adopting training systems which better control the tree size (palmette, spindle and Tatura).

Very high densities (higher than 1300 trees per hectare) resulted unsatisfactory because of the difficulties encountered in management and the low quality of the fruits produced.

The evolution of the training systems determined the necessity of improving the pruning techniques especially in order to reach higher fruit quality and yield; summer pruning and fruit thinning have become increasingly important.

Since apricot is a fruit largely employed by the processing industry, mechanization of harvesting would be technically possible, but is not commonly adopted, both because of the availability, in many areas, of low cost labour, and for the difficulties (technical and economical) in employing large machinery in relatively small orchards.

Irrigation is of particular importance in the southern areas, where must be rationalized to avoid waste and low quality productions.

Generally speaking, apricot management, is in need of more responsible care in the use of pesticides and fertilizers.

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