ISHS Acta Horticulturae 800: X International Pear Symposium
MODELLING THE SHAPE AND GROWTH OF A PEAR |
| Authors: | J.M.S. Martins, A.R. Rosa, S. Martins, D. Fialho, J. Abreu |
| Keywords: | pear, Pyrus communis L., shape, mathematical models |
| Abstract:
In the search of a model for the non-destructive calculation of the mass of a pear fruit, several geometrical models were tried. The one presented here consists of a cone superimposed to a spherical cap. Nevertheless, a very high correlation has been found with a simple equation relating fruit weight with the cube of the maximum transverse diameter. Using this equation to transform the weekly measurements of growing fruits, some mathematical models proposed in the literature were fitted to the evolution of mass with time. The autocatalytic equation provided a good description for the growth of individual fruits, yielding a significant fit with relatively low errors of the estimates of the parameters. It is also an appropriate model on the grounds of its mathematical simplicity and ease of parameterization. | |
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