ISHS Acta Horticulturae 474: III International Symposium on Olive Growing
DETERMINATION OF THE PLANT AREA INDEX OF OLIVE TREES BY HEMISPHERICAL PHOTOGRAPHY |
| Authors: | R. Gucci, C. Cantini, P. van Gardingen, L. Sharp |
| Keywords: | Trunk cross section area, Relative shoot growth rate, Forecasting |
| Abstract:
Destructive measurements of leaf area index (LAI) were compared with values of plant area index (PAI) obtained by hemispherical photography in an unevenly-aged olive orchard in Southern Tuscany, Italy. The measured LAI destructively increased from 0.8 in one-year old plants to 2.8 in 10-year-old trees. PAI estimated by using conventional gap fraction analysis of hemispherical photography was 34 and 63% of that determined destructively in one-year-old plants and mature trees respectively. An alternative analysis of the hemispherical images to determine PAI from radiation interception by the canopy gave estimates 30% higher than that obtained by measurements of gap fraction. The radiation interception method was found to be more consistent for calculating LAI than the gap fraction method. | |
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